Since returning to the Formula 1 (F1) grid in 2021, the Aston Martin Team (AMF1) has leveraged its iconic brand to develop a strong commercial strategy that has delivered positive results.
The team aspires to become world champions on the track and is also looking to outperform its competition off it.
The past 12 months have been hugely significant for AMF1 commercially as it seeks to become an F1 powerhouse and compete with more established teams.
The Silverstone-based outfit has secured several major sponsorship deals to build out its portfolio, most notably upgrading Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco to title sponsor.
Aramco replaced Cognizant at the start of 2024, although the data technology and business service firm remained the team's strategic partner.
More recently, AMF1 announced multi-year partnerships with Puma, Ma’aden, Glenfiddich, and Xerox as the team looks to build out its roster of partners for 2025 and beyond.
“We had more activity commercially this year and going into next year than we've ever had,” Jefferson Slack, Aston Martin F1’s managing director of commercial and marketing, tells Sportcal (GlobalData Sport). “The Aston Martin brand continues to be fundamental and aspirational, and companies that we work with are excited to link themselves to the brand and we've constructed a commercial organization that in many cases is best in class in all the different areas that you need to be.”Two iconic brands with performance at the heart of all they do.
Aston Martin Aramco F1 x @pumamotorsport. pic.twitter.com/djEmUdzySO — Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) November 12, 2024
Additional tie-ups over the past year include Epos, OMP, NetApp (renewal), and Circle8. AMF1's portfolio features a total of 25 global partners - including the likes of Hugo Boss, Pirelli, Valvoline, Citi, Bombardier, TikTok, and ServiceNow - and five official suppliers (Oakley, Stichd, Stilo, Ogio, and OMP) who sit below the top-tier title partner. Slack continued: “The people that we do these deals with - and Formula 1 is a very expensive space if you compare it to other sports - are doing it because they have business objectives that they need to reach. “This is hardcore ROI. So, from that standpoint, because we started only four years ago as Aston Martin, we've been fortunate enough to construct a team of people in an organization that has a very modern approach to that and has led us to create success commercially. “We've probably grown faster than any sports entity ever, looking at the revenue growth we've had in the last four years. As we get more successful on the track, that'll accelerate the commercial growth even more.” US growth F1 is experiencing a period of global growth which its teams are capitalizing on, both commercially and in terms of engaging new fans. Significant audience growth in the US has allowed teams to develop a presence in a key market that was previously tough for the sport to crack. Much of this can be attributed to US-based Liberty Media, which introduced a new business model that has helped grow the iconic motor racing series globally since taking charge in 2017. This has been a key ingredient in the evolution of teams such as Aston Martin. “There are a few underlying trends or tectonic plate shifts,” Slack says of the growth of F1. “The first is the sport is in amazing health in terms of fan growth, especially in the United States. “Now, this is a mainstream sport in the United States that wasn't five years ago, and that's the game changer for all of us in the sport. “As a business, we have been fortunate enough to be part of this great moment in Formula 1, in terms of the growth of the business, and the younger demographics and more women. This sport traditionally had been a European, older white male sport and it's changed. “Marketers want to market to young people who are going to be future consumers or existing consumers today. That's just been a big opportunity for all the teams to lean into.” The growing popularity of F1, especially in the US, has largely been attributed to the sport’s hugely successful Drive to Survive Netflix series. Now in its sixth season, the hit docuseries has seen F1’s appeal skyrocket, with team and driver social media followings swelling as fanbases grow, driven by the access-all-areas approach of the show.Timeless apart. Iconic together.
Two legacies, centuries in the making, unite for a new chapter. Welcome to the family, @GlenfiddichSMW. pic.twitter.com/hQYIOwCfEr — Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) November 20, 2024
According to GlobalData’s Business of Formula One 2024 report, the series has generated over $500 million in annual sponsorship revenue this season, with the value of the competition powered by the Netflix series. “It’s fundamentally changed the sport,” Slack says of Drive to Survive. “There are a lot of unscripted sports documentaries now, and a lot of them are good, but that's still the gold standard. It's been a game changer.” The rise of F1’s worldwide appeal has seen the series add new locations in recent years and expand its calendar to a record 24 races. The likes of Doha (Qatar), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Miami and Las Vegas (US) have been added, while Spain will have an additional race from 2026 with Madrid joining the grid. Since the turn of the millennium, 17 new venues have joined the F1 calendar, while a handful of other tracks – including Zandvoort in the Netherlands and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City – have made returns. Some other tracks, like Hanoi Street Circuit in Vietnam and Igora Drive in Russia, have signed contracts with F1 but have never been raced at. Adding a race in Africa is also believed to be an appealing proposition for F1 bosses, with a potential return of the South African Grand Prix. The event was last held over 30 years ago, in 1993. The Kyalami circuit looked set to return to the calendar in 2023, until a deal to bring the race back fell through in August 2022. “There's been talk about that [a grand prix in Africa] and it would make a lot of sense,” Slack says. “There aren’t any races in Africa and there are infrastructure challenges. “Asia also could probably use another race or two. But the guys that are doing that have got to balance all of that out. You've got the classic European races, and I think there's talk about alternating them, and that'll open some spots somewhere in Asia or Africa.” Investment and long-term strategy The Aston Martin team previously operated as Racing Point across 2019 and 2020 before being rebranded for 2021 after billionaire Lawrence Stroll’s acquisition of the company, signaling the company's return to the sport for the first time in 60 years. Stroll’s consortium initially took control of the Force India team and rebranded it as Racing Point at the start of the 2019 season. Despite his wealth, the task for AMF1’s executive chairman and majority owner to compete with corporate giants in the F1 world was too great for one individual. This led him to seek strategic support which arrived last year in the form of US-based private equity firm Arctos Sports Partners who invested in the team and acquired a minority share in AMR Holdings GP Limited, AMF1’s holding company.Seems like a good time to open up @netflix...
Season 6 of #DriveToSurvive, out now. A throwback to Bahrain last year in episode 1. 👇 pic.twitter.com/CtsqZx0Gtz — Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) February 23, 2024
The deal, Arctos' first in F1, has provided the team with sports industry knowledge and a network of relationships to support its growth. Bringing Arctos on board has allowed Stroll and the Aston Martin leadership team to further invest in infrastructure, people, and processes as they take crucial steps to compete against the best teams in the world with decades of history in the sport. “We're a team of the future,” Slack explains. “There were 300 people when Lawrence acquired the team in 2018 and the team was punching way above its weight but was never going to contend for world championships. “Now, Lawrence is invested in people and infrastructure - we have a new 37-acre campus in Silverstone, we have Honda engines coming online in 2026, and we hired Adrian Newey [as managing technical partner], who was known as the best in the business. The investment by Arctos is just assisting Lawrence in doing that. “Lawrence didn't need it from a personal standpoint, but Arctos has invested in around 27 sports franchises, they’re best in class from that standpoint, and helpful for us from a strategic perspective. So, it was really a strategic investment to help us accelerate our growth and also continue to grow as an organization as we go from 300 people to 1000.”Aston Martin F1 Team welcomes investment from Arctos Partners.
Arctos will provide our team with deep sports industry knowledge and a robust network of influential relationships to support our continued growth. Click below to find out more. — Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) November 16, 2023
As well as the impending arrival of Newey next year, AMF1 recently hired Andy Cowell as group chief executive. Slack says Cowell will be “the real quarterback here day to day to change the team” and has already credited him for making “huge changes” since arriving in October. Slack, who was formerly senior vice-president of football at heavyweight sports agency IMG, was initially hired to lead commercial operations for the Racing Point team before being given a wider remit with the shift to Aston Martin. Despite 30 years’ experience in sports, which included senior positions at Wasserman and Italian soccer giants Inter Milan, the role was Slack’s first in F1. The veteran executive is now among a strong senior management team that will be tasked with maintaining AMF1's strong commercial output and marrying that with on-track success. Ahead of the final race of the 2024 F1 season in Abu Dhabi, the team is set to finish fifth in the 10-team F1 constructors' championship for a second consecutive year. The ultimate goal is to improve that position and deliver championships in the upcoming years. “From a technical standpoint, by 2026 we'll have all the tools that the other big guys have, and our goal within a couple of years after that is to be world champions,” Slack stresses. “From a business standpoint, we’ll continue to grow. Our revenue goes up significantly every year and we want to continue to do that and continue to grow our valuation for our shareholders. “I don't know if there's a better place to be right now in Formula 1, in terms of being on the journey to a championship. We’ve got to deliver, which isn't a sure thing, but it's a hell of a project to be involved with.”Introducing our Managing Technical Partner, Adrian Newey. pic.twitter.com/dFlop90SyS
— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) September 10, 2024
