Why LVMH's $1.5B Formula 1 Bet Is No Average Luxury Partnership
When my favorite Cashmere Wolf, Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury behemoth LVMH Group, watches Max Verstappen navigate treacherous corners at 180 mph during the Formula 1® Bahrain circuit, he does so with an eye towards his calculated $1.5 billion, 10-year investment into a competition rapidly growing in popularity. Like the Group's 2024 Paris Olympic Games sponsorship, this unprecedented partnership, announced in late 2024 and aligned with the sport's 75th anniversary and season, represents far more than logo placement on fast cars. Three distinct LVMH maisons—TAG Heuer, Louis Vuitton, and Moët & Chandon — each now play carefully choreographed roles in what amounts to luxury's most ambitious sporting investment in Arnault's latest exercise of strategic narrative layering.
Arnault orchestrated TAG Heuer's takeover from Rolex the role of official timekeeper for Monaco's Grand Prix; integrated Louis Vuitton's bespoke trunks as carrying cases for Formula 1 trophies; and ensured Moët & Chandon's omnipresence across newly rebranded races, Formula 1 TAG Heuer Monaco GRAND PRIX; Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian GRAND PRIX 2025; and Formula 1 Moët & Chandon Belgian GRAND PRIX 2025.
These LVMH brands will peacock on 24 global stages across nine months—stages that drew 1.5 billion cumulative TV viewers last year with an average viewership of 70 million per race—reaching a sundry audience that may never have entered a Louis Vuitton boutique or considered a TAG Heuer timepiece. With these spectators skewing younger and more diverse than traditional luxury consumers, Arnault clearly has his eyes set on future customer cultivation, something many luxury brands often eschew in favor of those who can afford their products today.
With Formula 1 now making scheduled Grand Prix stops in my Miami backyard for the next 15 years, I ventured onto the tracks last month to understand the sport's growing entanglement with luxury. What I discovered were strategic partnerships navigating a balance between a rich motorsport tradition, a lifestyle signature, and a technologically savvy fanbase increasingly led by women.
KEITH, SCOTLAND – OCTOBER 30: (EDITORS NOTE: This image is a composite, and has been digitally ... More retouched) The Aston Martin AMR24 is showcased inside the historic Still House at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Keith, Scotland, on October 30, 2024. This unique setting celebrates the newly announced global partnership between Glenfiddich and Aston Martin Formula One® Team. (Photo by Guidofor Glenfiddich)
'Formula 1 is really having a moment,' Rob Bloom, CMO of Aston Martin Formula 1, told me over a dram of Glenfiddich 50YO Simultaneous Time, part of the single malt scotch whisky brand's Time Re:Imagined collection, and the rarest of the scotches Bloom and I would taste that evening. 'There are still new people discovering Formula 1 today. [This growth is attracting]
After racing McLarens at the McLaren Track Driving Event, followed by a MIAMI GRAND PRIX® Track Preview Experience & Paddock Tour, both courtesy of Chase Sapphire Reserve, I traded my track day sneakers for heels and a Donna Karan silk dress as I headed to the Mandarin Oriental for an exclusive dining experience with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One TeamTM to sample Glenfiddich's impressive lineup.
The dinner was part of Aston Martin F1's multi-year partnership with the scotch brand, announced at the November Las Vegas Grand Prix, where Glenfiddich unearthed a rare cask from 1959 – the very year Aston Martin debuted in Formula 1 – to create a commemorative single bottle expression. In aligning origin stories, both brands enlisted the marketing strategy of borrowed equity from each brand's legacy to augment their respective audience. In this well curated pairing, an Aston Martin enthusiast and a Glenfiddich connoisseur both share a love of the artisanal, of precision engineering, and a deep appreciation for heritage, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of distinction.
'The growth mindset that exists in the team is that we'll never settle,' Bloom said. 'There is that ongoing pursuit of excellence and betterment. Even when we win a race, the only thing we're thinking about is the next race and the next win. Which in a way is addictive. It feeds you and everybody in the organization lives with this growth mindset.'
Under Bloom's marketing leadership, the brand is leveraging F1's burgeoning popularity by actively engaging with new audiences through lifestyle integrations and collaborations, such as with Glenfiddich. Beyond just winning races, Aston Martin F1's marketing strategy is towards continuously exalting the brand's image to an impassioned community.
He continued, 'The sport itself is having a real moment. It's not just about that amazing tech racing story and the growth mindset and the competitive nature of the sport. It's actually about an extension into culture and lifestyle, and the fact that F1 shows up in everyday currency.'
This cultural expansion has fundamentally changed how luxury brands approach Formula 1 partnerships. 'Aston Martin's brand is ultimately a lifestyle brand,' Bloom stated, 'and what we want to do as a brand in F1 is to make sure that we show up in a way that is more than just the sport.' Aston Martin F1 has recently collaborated with The Rolling Stones and DJ Dom Dolla to extend racing culture into the music, fashion, and nightlife territories luxury consumers inhabit.
'We want to get measured on how we bring people into the sport and our brand image,' he added. 'Whether you're wearing The Rolling Stones hoodie or drinking a glass of Glenfiddich, you should be able to experience and enjoy that as an extension of your celebration of two brands coming together.'
Globant Co-Founder Guibert Englebienne interviews Jonny Haworth, F1's director of commercial ... More partnerships at the Globant and F1® Miami Garage Event
'What's really interesting is that as fans come in, they're younger, they're more diverse, they're more female and the challenge we have is that their interest in the sport spans everything,' Jonny Haworth, F1's director of commercial partnerships discussed during the Globant and F1 Miami Garage Event panel at the Miami Autodrome Paddock. 'The deep technology, the cars, everything that goes on the track all the way through to the culture and the lifestyle that goes on with drivers. And our role is to try and engage each of those audiences in a completely different way.'
This diversification challenge is precisely where technology partners become essential to luxury brands' F1 strategies. Globant, through its multi-year Official Partner agreement with Formula 1, is using engineering and data to lean into human emotions. F1 has now gone from a niche automotive competition watched mostly by enthusiasts into an immersive experience accessible to global onlookers.
'Technology was getting into our pockets and therefore was changing the way we could connect 7 by 24 with the brands that we love, creating an emotional bond,' Guibert Englebienne, Globant's co-founder said. 'You need to make it memorable. It's a big investment for people to come here. So our vision is that technology can be used to improve that, to expand, to bring some gravity to the sport, and the combination of engineering with data with a very human oriented company. '
Formula 1's fundamental marketing objective, according to Donna Birkett Baida, the organization's director of marketing, is to 'make people fall in love with it, with our sport and with our brand.' She likened this to the complexity of human love, aiming for both 'incredible highs and passion' and 'a level of comfort.' The ultimate goal is to create 'moments that are so memorable' and drive engagement, 'really bringing people... from just being aware of our brand and that latent interest in our brand to actually genuinely falling in love with it.'
Globant is now developing a Formula 1 customer-facing app to enhance fan experience while providing data to devise continued engagement opportunities. 'What I love about the app—and we're still in the conceptual stages—is that it's going to move us from being reactive,' Baida shared. 'Which is really important because we have to be with our fans – react to their behaviors, requirements, and needs – but moving us much more towards being proactive and trying to anticipate what their requirements are and give them the best possible Formula 1 experience.'
Tag Heuer clock during the Formula 1 pre-season testing at Sakhir Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain on ... More February 26, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Shifting from efficiency to intimacy was exactly what Formula 1 needed to court new audiences, particularly the female demographic reshaping the sport's identity. This growing female F1 fanbase is inspiring entirely new forms of artistic expression within the circuit.
Take Samantha Zimmermann, a fine artist whose motorsports realism captures both the technical precision and emotional sensations evoked in racing. Working primarily in oil paint and graphite pencil, Zimmermann has found her niche painting live at major IMSA and HSR events.
'Lyn Hiner, Anita Lewis, and I were invited to display our work within the Paddock Club,' Zimmerman shared with me in email. 'In addition to having art on display, we are also doing live painting demonstrations throughout the weekend! Guests who visit the marketplace space within the Paddock Club will also be invited to participate in the paint-by-numbers feature.'
LVMH was undoubtedly betting on this demographic shift when structuring their billion-dollar F1 investment. TAG Heuer has been actively cultivating the sport's female future through its partnership with F1 ACADEMY™, the all-female single-seater racing series designed to propel women toward motorsport's highest levels. 'We have a unique opportunity to fundamentally change our industry, driving female participation at every level of motorsport,' Susie Wolff, a former F1 test driver and managing director of F1 ACADEMY™, said in TAG Heuer's brand magazine.
Since becoming F1's official timekeeper, TAG Heuer CEO Antoine Pin reports traffic in stores has increased by double digits, forcing the brand to increase production on the car-related models. The timepiece manufacturer's position jumped from 15th to 11th among top Swiss watch brands by sales in 2024.
With Formula 1 now attracting over 800 million viewers annually—40 percent of whom are women—the sport's unique combination of technological sophistication, global reach, and cultural expansion creates opportunities for luxury brands to access passionate communities where, as with the pursuit of luxury, precision, innovation, and excellence are already expected. The racing platform serves as both scientist and laboratory in teaching brands how to win over consumers prioritizing experiences over products, authenticity over exclusivity, and emotional connection over transactional relationships.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 04: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing ... More RB20 leads the field into turn one at the start during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 04, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by)
Baida's F1 mission to 'make people fall in love with our sport and our brand' represents a seismic shift from luxury's once pragmatic exclusivity to a now fervently passionate inclusivity. When TAG Heuer reports double-digit store traffic increases and jumps from 15th to 11th in Swiss watch rankings because of the Formula 1 partnership, particularly at a time when tariffs are upending the Swiss watch industry, it reaffirms emotional connection as luxury's most recession-proof currency.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Massive recall on popular cars
Almost 70,000 Toyota vehicles sold in Australia will be urgently recalled over a potential fault, including thousands of popular sedans, hatchbacks, and SUVs. Toyota Australia on Tuesday announced it would initiate a recall of about 69,586 vehicles sold in Australia between July 2022 and April 2025. Not all vehicles sold during the time range are impacted, but include Corolla and Camry hybrids, the Kluger Hybrid, and the RAV4 Hybrid. The notice stated the vehicles may be impacted by a fault with a 12.3-inch display on the instrument panel, which showy as blank when the vehicle is started. 'Driving without speedometer and any warning may result in an increased risk of an accident in certain driving conditions,' the recall notice stated. The display would usually show combination metre system information, including warning and indicator lights, vehicles gauges, and messages. Affected vehicles will require an update to the programming, which was improperly repeatedly writing unnecessary data to the memory of the metre. As such, the metre would deteriorate earlier then expected, according to the recall notice, and would take between one to 2.5 hours to be fixed. Owners of affected vehicles were told they could 'continue to drive your car' while awaiting the fix, and to contact a dealer or a recall hotline if the error occurred. The full list of affected vehicles ins available on the Toyota website, including: C-HR Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Corolla Hatch Hybrid, Corolla Sedan Hybrid, Corolla Hatch petrol, Corolla Sedan petrol, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Corolla Cross petrol, GR Yaris, GR Corolla, Kluger petrol, Kluger Hybrid, RAV4 petrol, and RAV4 Hybrid.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Johns say NRL going 'way too far' to protect kickers
Andrew Johns has accused the NRL of going "way too far" in protecting kickers, unhappy with the decisive penalty against Harry Grant in Melbourne's loss to Manly. The Storm were on Sunday feeling the fallout of their 18-16 loss to the Sea Eagles, with prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona facing a two-game ban for an errant elbow. But it was the late penalty against Grant that defined the match, the Melbourne hooker stung for contact on Luke Brooks' leg after a missed field-goal attempt. The NRL has moved to offer more protection to kickers in recent years, with Manly denied a win against the Warriors last year in similar fashion. Johns has previously been among the most vocal in calling for playmakers to be afforded more protection, particularly furious when halves are hit after passing. But in the case of kickers, he believes it is now defenders who are being targeted too harshly by referees. "It's gone way too far, but to the letter of the law it's not a penalty," Johns said on Nine's Sunday Footy Show. "Say you defend a really good set, and you get the opposition they play the ball on their 30. "In years gone by if it was a slow play-the-ball the kicker would have to be back 10 to 15 metres, which means you would get the ball and bring it back to your 40. "Nowadays if you get a bad attacking set and slow play-the-ball, the kicker stands on the advantage line and kicks it 60 metres because they know they can't get hit. "They should be able to get out and tackle the kicker above the waist." The NRL remains steadfast behind the current rule, pointing to instances when kickers have been hurt when collected in the legs by defenders. Lachlan Ilias' broken leg last year while playing NSW Cup is the most obvious example. Grant has previously been penalised over the matter, successfully fighting a ban for dangerous contact on Cronulla's Daniel Atkinson last year. The NRL will also look at the controversial penalty against Luciano Leilua that left Shane Flanagan fuming following St George Illawarra's 20-18 loss to Canterbury. Flanagan labelled it "outrageous" that the bunker ruled Leilua's foot had knocked the ball out of Jacob Kiraz's hand as the Bulldogs winger stood up to play it. After having the decision overturned, Canterbury went downfield and soon afterwards scored the match-winning try. "He's got to get to his feet before he plants the ball," the Dragons coach said. "You can't be falling sideways. You can't ball-plant ... but tonight we ball-planted and we lost the game because of it." The NRL will review the penalty, but is likely to counter Flanagan's claim that it was a ball-plant from Kiraz, given it never reached the ground before contacting Leilua's foot.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Wrexham Down Under: A tour that whets the appetite and underlines next season's spike in difficulty
For any Wrexham fans hoping for a few pointers to the future, the tour Down Under did not disappoint. Not necessarily in a football sense, with a combination of only Ryan Hardie and Danny Ward arriving as new signings prior to the squad jetting out to Australia and fitness being the priority at this stage of pre-season, meaning that the three games told us very little we didn't already know. Advertisement Off the field, however, was a different story, with two of the three stadia playing host to Wrexham having been designed by Populous, the firm behind both the new Kop and the overall master plan that will see The Racecourse's capacity eventually rise to around 28,000. Kicking off the tour at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium and then finishing eight days later at Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, gave the small band of loyal fans who made the trip from Wales, plus the players and staff, a taste of what to possibly expect when the oldest international venue still in use finally gets upgraded for the 21st century. Both may have been built in an oval shape to house top-flight Australian rules football in the AFL, making the pitch for Wrexham's visit a long way from the stands. But the facilities are excellent, including seating with plenty of legroom and good access throughout, despite the two venues now being a little over 25 years old. Plenty to look forward to then as the clock ticks down towards June 2026, and the promised opening of the new 5,500 capacity Kop for the next UEFA Under-19s Championship. As for the football, a tour that ended on Saturday with a 1-0 defeat to Wellington Phoenix merely confirmed what we all knew back in April after that third consecutive promotion had been clinched. Namely, if Wrexham are to survive in the Championship, then their squad needs a serious upgrade. Phil Parkinson and his staff are as aware of this as anyone. It's why their club record transfer fee was broken late on Friday as Empoli left wing-back Liberato Cacace signed in what represents a significant widening of the recruitment net beyond the shores of Britain and Ireland. Further deals are planned before the season's opener at Southampton on August 9, with Bolton Wanderers captain George Thomason very much on the radar along with Josh Windass, the former Rangers forward who recently had his contract at Sheffield Wednesday cancelled by mutual consent amid the financial chaos engulfing the Yorkshire club. Advertisement Lewis O'Brien, the Nottingham Forest midfielder, is also one of several long-standing targets as Parkinson looks to equip his side for one of football's more challenging step-ups in quality. As ever, at this time of year, patience is likely to be key, particularly when it comes to the Premier League loan market that Parksinon has previously pledged to tap into. Most top-flight managers prefer to take their promising youngsters on tour before then assessing any loan options, meaning deals often get done only after the EFL season has got under way. The bottom line is that the 25-man squad demanded under Championship rules after the transfer window has closed on September 1 should look very different to the travelling party heading home from New Zealand this weekend. This makes any assessment of the tour difficult. As, to be fair, does the timing, with this year's trip having come earlier in pre-season than the 2024 jaunt to the U.S. and Canada. Back then, Wrexham faced Bournemouth on July 20, Chelsea four days later and then Vancouver Whitecaps on the final weekend of July. This meant the players were further along in their preparations for a campaign that began on August 10. It also helped that five new faces had arrived before heading across the Atlantic, as opposed to just two this time around when taking on a trio of A-League clubs. Nevertheless, there were a few things to glean from Australia and New Zealand — chief among these was how Parkinson largely persevered with the 3-5-1-1 formation that proved so effective during last season's run-in. He did, though, mix things up slightly against a youthful Wellington side by playing two deep-lying midfielders, with Harry Ashfield and Elliot Lee pushed further forward behind Ollie Palmer. Lee, in particular, was unfortunate not to equalise early in the second half. Advertisement Hardie looks a promising addition, bagging his first goal since joining from Plymouth Argyle for £700,000 via a predatory near-post finish in the 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory. Ryan Barnett provided the cross for Hardie's goal but, really, it was Ryan Longman's deliveries from the flank that stood out on the tour. The January signing from Hull City arrived with plenty of Championship experience and already he's shaping up to be a key man at a level Wrexham last played in 1982. As was clear Down Under, both wing-backs will again be pivotal to how Wrexham play. Parkinson demands plenty, including how one wing-back shaping up to cross must be the cue for the other on the opposite flank to make a quick dart into the penalty box. The ploy worked well last season, particularly when James McClean and Barnett were in tandem. There were glimpses again here, including when McClean really should have done better with a free header from a Barnett cross in the 2-1 defeat to Sydney FC. Cacace's arrival adds an intriguing extra aspect to this mix. Much will depend on how quickly the pacey Kiwi international takes to get up to speed with what his new manager wants from the role. Twelve months ago, several new signings who went on to become key figures in the promotion push, including player of the year Ollie Rathbone, had to wait for their chance. Maybe Cacace will have to be similarly patient. As for his new team-mates, amid the inevitable rustiness of early pre-season that perhaps explains the mistake by Arthur Okonkwo that gifted Wellington their winner, perhaps the best that can be said is that the tour fulfilled the need to get matchday minutes into the legs. This is always the prime target in the early weeks of pre-season, as captain McClean made clear in a diary entry for The Athletic from Australia. Most of the club's senior contingent played 45 minutes in the 3-0 victory over Melbourne Victory, followed by a further hour and then 30 minutes spread across the defeats in Sydney and Wellington. Sam Smith was the notable exception with a calf problem that meant, as had been anticipated before leaving the UK, he sat out all three fixtures. Hardie also missed the Sydney defeat after picking up a knock, while Jay Rodriguez managed just half an hour's playing time due to a niggling foot problem. Advertisement The big loss was Rathbone, who flew home in a protective boot after injuring his ankle against Sydney. He will be assessed further in a week or so but Parkinson has already admitted things don't look 'too good' for the midfielder. Losing the 28-year-old for an extended period of the upcoming campaign would be a big blow. Jack Marriott, meanwhile, stayed behind as his team-mates flew home after having his appendix removed but should be cleared to resume training once home. Even allowing for the timing of the tour and inevitable rustiness, there's no escaping how disappointing two defeats and a victory are as a return against opposition from a competition regarded by many familiar with both the EFL and the A-League as being on a par with League One. Equally, though, results count for little at this stage, not least because those planned incomings mean the squad make-up is likely to be very different once the 'real' action gets under way next month. Where the true lasting effect of Wrexham's maiden tour Down Under is likely to be found is off the field. A 25,399 crowd in Wellington took the combined total of fans who turned out to watch the Welsh club across the three games through the 100,000 mark. Throw in all the additional commercial benefits, including how every item of merchandise shipped to Australia before the tour was snapped up by eager fans, and the club has done well out of the tour. Now, though, Wrexham need to get just as busy as those souvenir vendors when it comes to strengthening the squad sufficiently to still be a Championship team come the much-anticipated opening of the new Kop in a year's time.
