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What we can expect from LVMH's billion-dollar F1 deal

If the Olympics were any clue, LVMH’s landmark $1 billion partnership with F1 means the French luxury group will be quietly (and not so quietly) omnipresent throughout the paddock and beyond.

Emily Selleck

Edited: Oct 7, 2024, 5:32 PM

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The winners trophy is presented on the podium

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Formula 1 is going to look a little different in 2025: Lewis Hamilton will be wearing red, a new rookie class is joining the grid, and French conglomerate LVMH will be everywhere in the paddock. From bottles of Moët & Chandon on the podium to monogrammed Louis Vuitton trophy cases, the luxury empire’s 75 brands — or maisons as they're referred to in-house — will be all-pervasive at races after LVMH owner Bernard Arnault inked a 10-year megadeal with Formula 1.

The move wasn't entirely unexpected. For months, speculation swirled that LVMH watch brand TAG Heuer was in talks to become the sport’s official timekeeper, replacing Rolex, which held the title for more than a decade. However, the sheer scale of LVMH’s eventual F1 sponsorship — worth a reported $1 billion — was bigger than anyone could have imagined.

Like all of the brands owned by the luxury supergroup, the Swiss watchmaker has historically operated independently, inking its own sponsorship deals with the likes of Red Bull and McLaren dating back to the 1960s. But LVMH's landmark deal with F1 will see its stable of 75 brands packaged together in an effort to saturate almost every aspect of the sport.

You want a glass of bubbly in the Paddock Club? Perhaps we could interest you in Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon, or Moët & Chandon. You’d prefer a cocktail? Does Belvedere, Glenmorangie, or Hennessy tickle your fancy?

The $364 billion company also owns historic luxury fashion brands like Celine, Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, and Loewe, along with Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and international cosmetics giant Sephora. LVMH can even connect with fans as they’re traveling to the 21 countries where F1 races — as it owns the duty-free retailer, DFS Group.

The announcement — made by Arnault alongside F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei last week — comes a couple of months after LVMH dominated the Paris Olympics on a the back of a similar group-wide sponsorship deal. And that moment serves as a blueprint for how the Formula 1 relationship will likely play out.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari receives his 3rd-place trophy at the 2024 Monaco GP, with the Louis Vuitton trophy case in the background

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

A $163 million investment in the 2024 Games allowed LVMH's brands to take center stage during the Olympics' Opening and Closing ceremonies: Berluti outfitted the French Olympic team, hotel Cheval Blanc made an appearance in the broadcast, and Dior dressed several A-list performers, including Celine Dion. Meanwhile, Olympians were presented with Chaumet-crafted medals carried in Louis Vuitton cases while millions of visitors to Paris browsed LVMH-owned stores, like the upscale retailer Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche. The goal: tasteful omnipresence.

The Olympics deal proved to be a masterclass in selling exclusivity on a grand scale, which LVMH is seemingly hoping to replicate in F1 come 2025.

The French luxury group reportedly considered a similar deal with F1 a decade ago, one insider told the Wall Street Journal. At the time, F1 was considered a niche sport in America, with only one race on the calendar in Texas and little news penetrating the cultural zeitgeist. In the years since, F1 has undergone an unprecedented audience transformation thanks to Netflix’s “Drive To Survive," race additions in Miami and Las Vegas (both being cities packed with LVMH brand stores), and rising ticket costs mirroring ever more over-the-top accommodations at races. Formula 1's U.S. expansion in particular seems to have been a crucial point of the sponsorship.

Max Verstappen, wearing a TAG Heuer Monaco, has been connected with the brand since he was 18.

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“We’re still at the beginning of the journey in the U.S.,” Bernard’s son, Frédéric Arnault, who leads the company’s watch division (which also includes Zenith and Hublot), told the WSJ. “There’s a very young audience. I think that’s reassuring. And that’s what also convinced us. Ten years ago, it was an aging audience.”

It remains to be seen how LVMH plans to market the full breadth of its 75 brands in F1 given the endless list of potential collaborations and integrations. Already we've seen Lewis Hamilton drop a capsule collection with LVMH-brand Dior as part of his personal deal with the brand, but sky's the limit. Race-specific versions of TAG's retro Formula 1 watch? (Collect 'em all!) Trophies wheeled out in special-edition Rimowa suitcases? A Guerlain perfume inspired by the smell of burning rubber? LVMH has the brands and resources to try often and figure out what resonates most as a post-"Drive to Survive" version of the globetrotting racing series turns into a canvas for opportunity.

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