Since its inception, the world's most famous motorsport racing competition, Formula One (F1) or the Grand Prix, has always opened its doors to sponsorships owing to hefty race costs. For example, each race team's spending cap is pegged at USD$140 million this year and is expected to dip to USD$135 million from 2023 to 2025.
Long-term and popular F1 sponsors used to be from tobacco, alcoholic beverage firms, energy, and telecommunications companies. However, in recent years, the racing brand has opened its doors to tech-based firms, including online entertainment and betting sites.
Alfa Romeo Formula One team has announced a multi-year co-title partnership with online casino and sports betting platform Stake. The Alfa Romeo F1 team will be officially known as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake this season. The deal has been described as record-breaking by the team, although no financial details were given.
This partnership and similar sponsorships will impact the 2023 F1 season in various ways, making it more engaging to race fans. This article will discuss additional details about the Alfa Romeo-Stake partnership, the 2023 F1 race calendar, and other things you must know about Formula 1 races.
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake
The multi-year collaboration between online casino and sports betting platform Stake and Sauber, the Swiss-based automaker managing Team Alfa Romeo, is said to be among the biggest sponsorships in the race's history.
Alfa Romeo, the iconic Italian car manufacturer, has recently announced its partnership with Stake, the leading online sports betting platform. The collaboration will see Alfa Romeo becoming the official Formula 1 sports betting partner of the online betting platform.
Stake will serve as Alfa Romeo's new title sponsor for the 2023 Formula One season. As such, the team will be officially known as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake.
Long-term sponsorships, especially title ones, require at least 100 million, per industry estimates. Research firm GlobalData Intelligence Center puts 2022 Formula One's sponsor revenues at USD$961.25 million, of which approximately USD$326.5 million were for title sponsorships alone. The latter figure was culled from 60% of the racing teams that scored title partnerships, including Alfa Romeo.
The partnership between Alfa Romeo and Stake highlights the growing interest in Formula One racing. The arrival of Stake, a well-established brand in the sports betting industry, represents the massive exposure that the sport can offer.
Take a look at this teaser announcing the collaboration:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ANjRqr3MFA. You may search for the video launching of the new Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake race car, c43, on the platform. Uploaded last February 7, the video has garnered over 350,000 views in a week.
Interviewed during the launch, Sauber managing director Alessandro Alunni Bravi said the Alfa Romeo team hopes to have a better overall performance, improve in all areas, and continuously grow.
Stake's partnership commitment
Beyond brand visibility, sponsorships offer symbiotic relationships between the racing team and the investor. With their expertise and access to advanced technologies, Stake, through its co-founder Bijan Tehrani, is committed to enhancing fan and user engagement through brand integration and activation.
Stake will work with Alfa Romeo to develop focused activations for races in countries around the world. The 2023 Formula One season will feature 23 races across 19 countries, and the activations could include special car livery in Stake's key markets and street demos.
Special car livery activation makes the car and the company accessible to racing enthusiasts. With it, online users can examine the race car and modify it based on their preferences by changing the paint colours, wheels, and other vehicle parts. Doing so provides a more immersive and inclusive user experience.
Formed in 2017, Stake isn't new to such sports deals. This entertainment and online betting site has ongoing partnerships with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the English Premier League soccer side Everton, and other football clubs.
It's supporting the Brazil Rugby league and sponsored a historic boxing match in Japan in 2022. Stake considers individual athletes, including boxer Israel Adesanya, UFC fighters Jailton Almeida, Alexa Grasso, Glover Texeira, and motorsport racers Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi, as partners.
Alfa Romeo: Bringing race fans closer
This isn't Alfa Romeo's first attempt at enhancing the consumer experience. In January, Alfa Romeo commissioned world-famous artist BOOGIE to create the 'Art Car'. The vehicle was displayed at the Stake booth during Global Gaming Hub in London from February 7 to 9. Spectators can expect the car to appear in multiple Grand Prix venues before being auctioned for charity, with the proceeds going to Save the Children, one of the leading non-profit organisations with a global presence.
Another one of Alfa's partners created the three-dimensional version of the Art Car, which can be accessed through Augmented Reality. Such innovation earned the company the first F1 livery launch of 2023. These efforts enable car racing lovers to own the bespoke automobile virtually, even if it's not used in the actual race.
How Formula 1 sponsorship deals work
The terms for Formula 1 sponsorships vary from one partner to another. Regardless, teams and the organisation ensure the amount invested justifies the deal price. For instance, a virtual currency exchange platform signed a USD$100 million deal with Formula One for the Miami Grand Prix title sponsorship. As a result of this support, the game title carries the company's name, which you can view later in the 2023 F1 events list.
Title sponsorships aside, businesses can shell out from a few thousand to a few million dollars, depending on the exposure they want to get. As you may have guessed, the higher price a sponsor pays, the more exposure and potential returns it earns.
Cost variations for a brand name or logo placement on an F1 car work similarly, with the sponsorship cost disparities dictated by the size and location. The rear wing and large side pod sections are the costliest, priced as high as USD$25 million. Besides the race car, trade names can be found on the racing team members' uniforms, the driver's race outfits, and the race circuits.
Offline and online sponsor advertising
Formula 1 garners millions of race viewership worldwide, allowing organisations to access untapped markets and worldwide reach. Last year's season brought in approximately 5.3 million viewers on multiple racetracks worldwide, while television viewers were highest at 1.21 million per race, according to reports.
The maiden race for the 2022 Miami Grand Prix last May was the most-watched race in the previous season, which had also seen increased interest among women and the younger audience.
Formula One has likewise ramped up its digital presence in recent years. From 5.3 million subscribers as of May 2021, the brand's free video streaming followers shot up to 8.56 million as of the latest count.
The brand's official website has outperformed other major sports events in terms of user engagement in 2021 and amassed over 49.1 million followers. F1 also recorded 7 billion video views, 1.6 billion page views, and 1.5 billion engagements in the same year. The race has reportedly snagged 16% of the total online sports consumption share in 2021, up from 10% in 2020. These numbers don't include the Formula 1 drivers' subscribers on their social media accounts, which Lewis Hamilton seems to be winning, at over 42 million combined followers.
The rise of tech-based Formula 1 sponsorship
Brands, such as Shell, BP, Marlboro, and Vodafone, are touted as Formula One's most generous, longest-running, and sometimes controversial sponsors. Teams and the organisation depend on sponsors to keep the competitions going.
In recent years, however, other businesses in the technology sector, notably cryptocurrency exchange, online entertainment and betting companies, have snagged lucrative collaborations.
Partnerships with tech-based firms, online entertainment and sports betting firms seem to be an increasing trend in the world-famous race. Going back to the GlobalData survey, it was revealed that 8 out of 10 racing teams had cryptocurrency firm sponsors in 2022. One of the largest partnerships was the multi-year agreement between a top-performing racing team and a cryptocurrency exchange platform valued at USD$150 million.
These sponsors are expected to get maximum exposure during the racing season and beyond.
The 2023 Formula One Grand Prix race calendar
The Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake will see action alongside other competitors in the schedules listed below. Based on the updated information from its official website, the 2023 F1 season features 23 racing events in 19 countries across all continents as of this writing.
- 03-05 Mar- Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix
Where: Bahrain International Circuit, Qatar
- 17-19 Mar-F1 STC Saudi Arabian GP
Where: Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia
- March 31- April 1- F1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix
Where: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Australia
- 28-30 Apr- F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Where: Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan
- 05-07 May- F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix
Where: Miami International Autodrome, USA
- 19-21 May- F1 Gran Premio dell’Emilia-Romagna
Where: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Italy
- 26-28 May- F1 Grand Prix De Monaco
Where: Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco
- 01-04 Jun -F1 Gran Premio De España
Where: Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
- 16-18 Jun- F1 Pirelli Grand Prix du Canada
Where: Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Canada
- 30 Jun-02 Jul- F1 Großer Preis Von Österreich
Where: Red Bull Ring, Austria
- 07-09 Jul-F1 Aramco British Grand Prix
Where: Silverstone Circuit, GB
- 21-23 Jul- F1 Hungarian Grand Prix
Where: Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary
- 28-30 Jul- F1 Belgian Grand Prix
Where: Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
- 25-27 Aug- F1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix
Where: Circuit Zandvoort, The Netherlands
- 01-03 Sep-F1 Pirelli Gran Premio D’Italia
Where: Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy
- 15-17 Sep-F1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix
Where: Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
- 22-24 Sep-F1 Lenovo Japanese Grand Prix
Where: Suzuka International Racing Course, Japan
- 06-08 Oct-F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2023
Where: Losail International Circuit, Qatar
- 20-22 Oct-F1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix
Where: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, USA
- 27-29 Oct-F1 Gran Premio De La Ciudad De Mexico
Where: Autodromo, Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico
- 03-05 Nov- F1 Rolex Grande Premio De Sao Paolo
Where: Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Brazil
- 16-18 Nov-F1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- 24-26 Nov-F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Where: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
These three-day events feature practice races, the qualifying competition, and the finals. Here's the 2022 Formula 1 race calendar for comparison.
As with the previous races, global car racing enthusiasts can join the action by watching the events live at the racing venues or on licensed sports television channels. Motorsport fans with strong internet connections are welcome to watch the motorsport competitions via online streaming videos across all available platforms.
Who's likely to win the 2023 F1 race?
Similarly, sports fans looking to profit on the side may consider motorsports betting. If you're one of them, build your knowledge this early by subscribing to reputable online entertainment and gambling sites like Stake.com for more information about sports and online betting.
Like any other sports betting activity, determining the potential Formula 1 race winner remains challenging even for professionals. So, if you're planning on betting online for the first time, it pays to gather reliable information and consider expert opinion.
If you consider yourself adequately informed, check multiple reputable sites to determine the 2023 Formula One drivers' odds of winning in the different races. Expert predictions vary, and anyone from the 10 racing teams has the potential to snag the F1 championship.
Here's the official 2023 official driver lineup for the F1 season:
- Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake: Valtteri Bottas (#77) and Zhou Guanyu (#24)
- Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team: Fernando Alonso (#14) and Lance Stroll (#18)
- BWT Alpine F1 Team: Pierre Gasly (#10) and Esteban Ocon (#31)
- McLaren F1 Team: Lando Norris (#4) and Oscar Piastri (#81)
- Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team: Lewis Hamilton (#44) and George Russell (#63)
- MoneyGram Haas F1 Team: Nico Hülkenberg (#27) and Kevin Magnussen (#20)
- Oracle Red Bull Racing: Sergio Pérez (#11) and Max Verstappen (#1)
- Scuderia AlphaTauri: Nyck de Vries (TBC) and Yuki Tsunoda (#22)
- Scuderia Ferrari: Charles Leclerc (#16) and Carlos Sainz Jr. (#55)
- Williams Racing: Alexander Albon (#23) and Logan Sargeant (#2)
Based on the current driver ranking released by racingnews365.com, the top five fastest drivers are Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), George Russell (Mercedes), Sergio Perez (Red Bull), and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
Formula One correspondent Lawrence Barretto said many things could happen in the nine-month-long race. His analysis and predictions for the 2023 Formula One season include the following:
- Six teams, namely, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Alpine, and either Alfa Romeo or Aston Martin, will battle it out in the championships.
- McLaren team's racer Lando Norris will win his first F1 race.
- Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso will score at least two race wins.
- Alpine will likely break into the top three.
- Lewis Hamilton will win his eighth driver's title after a disappointing 2022 performance.
Four teams, namely Alfa Romeo, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, have retained last year's lineup for the upcoming racing season.
Concluding thoughts
This partnership between Alfa Romeo and Stake is a significant step for both parties. Alfa Romeo will benefit from the exposure and expertise of Stake, while Stake will gain a wider audience through its association with Formula One racing. This is an exciting time for both companies, and it will be interesting to see how the partnership develops in the coming months and years.