Gucci Accelerates Into Formula 1 as Alpine’s Title Partner
Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team
Gucci has announced a landmark partnership with Alpine Formula One Team, becoming the first luxury fashion house to serve as title partner of a Formula 1 team. Beginning with the 2027 FIA Formula One World Championship, the team will compete under the name Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team, racing in Gucci colours and introducing a new platform known as Gucci Racing. Designed as a long-term business and experiential venture, the Gucci Racing initiative is built around the “values of performance, precision, discipline and excellence, positioning the Italian house at the intersection of luxury, culture and elite sport”. The partnership also introduces a dedicated Gucci Racing identity, featuring the house’s signature interlocking G alongside a bespoke motorsport wordmark.
The announcement signals a significant evolution in luxury fashion’s relationship with sport. While fashion brands have long sponsored teams, athletes and sporting events, Gucci’s move places the house directly within the identity of a Formula 1 team itself. Rather than merely attaching its logo to an existing platform, Gucci becomes part of the team’s commercial and cultural architecture. Formula 1 has become an increasingly attractive proposition for luxury brands in recent years. Under Liberty Media’s stewardship, the championship has expanded far beyond motorsport, evolving into a global entertainment property that blends sport, fashion, hospitality and lifestyle. According to Kering chief executive officer — Luca de Meo — Formula 1 now reaches more than 1.5 billion people globally each season while attracting a younger and increasingly female audience.
Kering Cuts Debt, Deepens Desire
The partnership also arrives at a pivotal moment for Gucci and parent company Kering. The French luxury group is currently undergoing a broader transformation strategy following a challenging period that saw Gucci’s sales decline from approximately USD 12.1 billion (approximately EUR 10.5 billion) in 2022 to approximately USD 6.9 billion (approximately EUR 6 billion) in 2025. As Gucci remains Kering’s largest brand — accounting for roughly 40 percent of group revenue — the house is increasingly looking towards high-visibility cultural platforms capable of reinforcing desirability and expanding its reach among new consumer segments.
Speaking at the group’s Annual General Meeting, de Meo emphasised that reducing debt was a priority, noting that a stronger financial position would provide the flexibility needed to invest in future growth and support the group’s ongoing transformation strategy. De Meo expressed confidence that the foundations for Gucci’s recovery are now in place, pointing to a leaner organisational structure and a renewed emphasis on the house’s core design codes. Part of that strategy has included a 20 percent reduction in product SKUs, allowing the brand to sharpen its offer and focus on its strongest categories. Elsewhere within the group, Kering has appointed Gianfranco D’Attis as the new chief executive officer of Alexander McQueen, effective 3 June 2026. He will report directly to de Meo. D’Attis joins the British luxury house after serving as CEO of Prada, where he was credited with strengthening the brand’s market positioning and delivering growth through a more disciplined, customer-focused strategy.
Alpine’s Formula 1 Ascent
For Alpine, the deal represents another step in the team’s growing commercial momentum. Founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé and backed by Renault Group’s long-standing Formula 1 heritage, Alpine has spent recent seasons rebuilding its competitiveness on and off the track. The team currently fields drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, with executives pointing to improving on-track performances as a foundation for the partnership. Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Alpine remained outside the championship’s leading positions, with Pierre Gasly placing eighth in the drivers’ standings and teammate Franco Colapinto in eleventh. The collaboration will be activated through a range of initiatives spanning product development, exclusive client experiences, content creation and hospitality programmes. According to Gucci president and chief executive officer Francesca Bellettini, the ambition extends far beyond visibility on race weekends, positioning Gucci Racing as a long-term platform for growth and cultural engagement.
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More significantly, the partnership reflects how luxury brands increasingly view sport not as a marketing channel, but as a business platform. For Gucci, Formula 1 offers access to a global audience, premium hospitality opportunities, product extensions and year-round cultural relevance. The creation of Gucci Racing suggests the house is not simply sponsoring a team, but building an entirely new commercial ecosystem around sport. Louis Vuitton provided one of the clearest examples of this strategy in December 2025 when it became title partner of the Monaco Grand Prix, extending a relationship that began with the race’s trophy trunks and reinforcing LVMH’s wider investment in the sport.
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