How LVMH’s F1 Uber-Sponsorship Is Taking Shape

When the announcement hit this past fall that LVMH was taking over the coveted Formula 1 global partnership role from Rolex (which held that “crown” for 11 years), starting with the 2025 season, there were instantly more questions than answers.

The 10-year deal reportedly cost $1.5 billion ($150 million per year), but speculation quickly developed over how LVMH might slice up the F1 promotional “pie,” especially in the coveted watch category.

After all, the group controls multiple watch brands with beaucoup automotive-appeal (including TAG Heuer, Zenith, and Hublot).

Recent reports that TAG Heuer will return as the Official Timekeeper of F1 (a position it held from 1992 to 2003) have largely put the speculation about watch brands to rest. As a result, TAG Heuer is poised to be the primary beneficiary of the agreement, but only for watches.

However, TAG’s involvement has raised additional questions about how the brand would handle that overarching status concerning its individual F1 team sponsorship of Oracle Red Bull Racing.
 

While some team-sponsor jockeying is still ongoing despite the impending start of the season, it does, in fact, appear that TAG will continue to sponsor the Max Verstappen-led Red Bull team for the 2025 season.

Here are some more confirmed or highly likely team/watch sponsors for the new season:

• Alpine x H. Moser & Cie
• Aston Martin x Girard-Perregaux
• Ferrari x Richard Mille
• McLaren x Richard Mille
• Mercedes-Petronas x IWC
• Racing Bulls x Tudor

However, just as LVMH is about more than watches, F1 events are about more than the race at hand.

There are abundant opportunities for brand exposure through hosting and hospitality, as there are multiple levels of VIP, invite-only, and super-VIP attendance, with appropriate high-end hospitality, for the 24 rounds of the 2025 season (plus the so-called preseason “testing” round in Bahrain at the end of this month). Elevated wining and dining is a big call word of every F1 race day.
 

So far, mentions of LVMH’s Moët and Hennessy arms have been prominent in the partnership announcements. So it should be interesting to see how the organization’s coterie of spirit-makers plays into the F1 mix this year. I’d pay particular attention to what champagne is uncorked to celebrate the end of the races.

Of course, LVMH’s Moët & Chandon has been the off-and-on official bubbly of choice for race celebrations and is the likely go-to bottle for this year. However, the group controls multiple producers (Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Krug, and Dom Perignon among them), so perhaps they will also make an appearance.
 

Might we also expect LVMH spirits brands like Belvedere vodka, Ardbeg, Glen Morangie single malt scotch, and Hennessy cognac to play a more prominent role in this year's F1 cocktail scene?

Ditto on the organization’s fine collection of winemakers (most notably the exquisite bottlings of Chateau d’Yquem sauterne)? Hmmm, I wonder.

Anyone lucky enough to wander the hospitality suites during an F1 race may have noticed that there are ample vitrine and display areas, which generally feature racing gear, helmets, and other items from various makers/sponsors.

Again, Louis Vuitton has been prominently mentioned in recent announcements, so it’s a safe bet that we will see the maison’s designs and products centerstage in the VIP areas. Vuitton is also the “title” sponsor of the Australian race that will officially kick off the F1 season.
 

But even LVMH brands like Vuarnet sunglasses, sportier designers like Marc Jacobs and Kenzo, and ultra-luxury marques like Dior, Fendi, and Berluti would certainly not seem out of place to higher-end race attendees. And, of course, jewelry from Bulgari or Tiffany & Co. would be welcomed by race fans, too. Some shopping while you’re spectating? Why not?

Probably the biggest speculative stretch concerns LVMH’s five-star Belmond Hotel Group, which happens to have several glorious properties within striking distance of several F1 race locations this year.

Properties like Venice’s Hotel Cipriani and Florence’s Villa San Michele could serve as a luxurious base of operations for the two Italian F1 events in Imola and Monza. Meanwhile, Oxfordshire’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is certainly close to the Silverstone location of the UK’s F1 race.
 

The Casa de Sierra Nevada in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Rio’s Copacabana Palace might be a bit of a schlep from Mexico City and São Paolo (where Mexico and Brazil’s F1 races are being held), but it’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. Perhaps we will see some packages and “synergies” here, as well?