Gucci is in early discussions to become Alpine F1 Team's title sponsor when BWT's contract expires after the 2026 season, according to paddock sources. The Austrian water-technology company has held the spot since 2022 at an estimated €20 million annually. A Gucci deal would represent the first time a legacy fashion house has taken title position on an F1 chassis.
BWT informed Alpine management in November it would not renew beyond 2026, citing shifting marketing priorities toward direct consumer channels. The pink livery that defined Alpine's identity disappears with it. Gucci's interest stems from Kering's broader sports push: the conglomerate allocated €150 million to sports marketing in 2024, up from €42 million in 2021, according to filings. Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault has attended three race weekends since Monaco, twice in Alpine's hospitality suite.
The timing aligns with F1's luxury repositioning. Paddock club passes now average $8,400 per weekend, double the 2019 figure. LVMH entered via TAG Heuer's extended Red Bull deal. Loro Piana supplies Ferrari teamwear. Gucci would leapfrog those arrangements with title billing, estimated at €35-50 million annually for a mid-grid team. Alpine's appeal: French heritage, a Renault parent with luxury-auto adjacency, and a driver lineup that will include Jack Doohan alongside Pierre Gasly starting 2025.
The challenge is activating a hard-goods fashion brand in a technical sport. BWT's pink car was product iconography; Gucci's double-G mark lacks that utility. Paddock executives point to two models. One: treat the car as a rolling billboard for brand perception, not conversion, similar to Richard Mille's McLaren partnership. Two: co-develop a capsule collection with race-day functionality, sold through Gucci's 483 stores. The latter requires design lead time Alpine cannot offer until sponsorship is locked.
Renault Group is handling negotiations directly, bypassing Alpine's commercial team, per two sponsor-adjacent sources. That suggests urgency. The team burned €178 million in operating losses in 2023 and needs the cash flow certainty a multi-year title deal provides before Renault's board reviews the F1 program in Q2 2025. BWT's exit removes 14% of Alpine's commercial revenue. Gucci would restore it and add margin if the deal includes co-branded merchandise royalties.
Three complicating factors. Gucci's creative director, Sabato De Sarno, has no motorsport background and must approve the visual integration. Kering's sportswear brands, Puma and Volcom, operate separately; internal politics could stall the deal if Puma wants the activation budget for its own F1 play. And Alpine's 2026 car will run a customer Mercedes power unit, diluting the French narrative Gucci values.
Watch for De Sarno at the Monaco Grand Prix in May, where Kering typically stages its annual sports summit. If Gucci proceeds, expect livery teasers by September, six months before the 2027 season. If not, Alpine will approach Loro Piana, Hermès, or revert to a non-fashion industrial: Airbus has been pitching since August. The pink is gone either way.
The takeaway
Gucci-Alpine would test whether hard luxury translates to F1 title sponsorship at **€35-50M annually**, replacing BWT's **€20M** deal.
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