A few weeks before a new Formula 1 season, Qualcomm makes official its new sponsorship. After displaying the logo of Snapdragon on the team chassis Ferrari until the end of 2022, the chipmaker is listed as a team sponsor. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS and accompany Lewis Hamilton and George Russell during 2023.
The announcement was made official during the presentation of the new W14 with which Mercedes will try to retake the lead in the championship in constructors, after the title won by RedBull last year. The presentation event, held at Silverstone racetrack, revealed the location of the Snapdragon logo on the chassis.
In this case, the W14 PERFORMANCE displays the Snapdragon logo on the front wing and next to the rear wing that houses the DRS system. In addition, the agreement calls for Qualcomm’s iconic product logo to appear on the team garage and the drivers’ suits. Snapdragon will appear alongside technology partners such as INEOS, AMD and Teanviewer.
“Innovation is fundamental to our business. It is as important in connecting with our fans and building the workplace of the future as it is in the design and creation of our race cars.” Said Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team. “With the Snapdragon brand, we have the perfect partner to innovate and transform. We look forward to creating unique and bold solutions as we move forward in these areas.”
End of agreement between Qualcomm and Ferrari
Until 2022, Qualcomm had an advertising agreement with Ferrari valued at $24 million, which included collaborative assistance on technological issues. However, negotiations did not come to a successful conclusion for the renewal of the contract at the end of last year.
“Snapdragon delivers premium experiences, and our partners are best in class. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team is the leading F1 technology team, making it the ideal partner for the Snapdragon brand.” said Don McGuire, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Qualcomm Technologies. “Together, we are committed to reimagining the fan experience by bringing Snapdragon to fans around the world.”
Which technology companies are sponsoring Formula 1?
The highest category of world motorsport is no stranger to technology companies. For years, Amazon Web Services has been the FIA’s logistics partner for data management and multimedia archiving, as well as the logistics partner for Ferrari since 2019.
RedBull maintains the support of Oracle for information management, as well as the logo of Citrix, Zoom, Siemens – firm that also sponsors the team. Alpha Tauri -Hewlett Packard and América Movil, among others. In turn, McLaren is supported by Google, following an agreement announced in 2022 for the inclusion of Android and Google Chrome in the team’s chassis.
Aston Martin carries TeamViewer sponsorship on the new AMR23 model that will be used by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll this season, while BWT Alpine maintains a multi-year agreement with Microsoft for data management. HAAShas a business relationship with Money Gram and the NFTs Open Sea website.
In the case of Alfa Romeo, streaming platform KICK and blockchain service Socios.com are listed as sponsorships on the Sauber-run team’s chassis; while Duracell, Broadcom and Zeiss are listed as commercial partners of the team Williams.
