When we think of Santander in Formula 1, we think of its time sponsoring the likes of McLaren in the late noughties, and Ferrari later on down the line.
Its first foray into F1 team sponsorship saw the bank sponsor McLaren from 2007 to 2013 during its Ron Dennis-led era. Everyone remembers those Santander TV ads featuring then McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button!
The brand sponsored Ferrari from 2010 to 2017 in addition, with this four year overlap certainly not going unnoticed in the sponsorship landscape of the time.
However, Santander officially announced in June 2024 that the global bank would not continue its latest partnership with Ferrari – having only begun its current tenure in 2022. Ferrari quickly drafted in banking firm UniCredit as the effective replacement.
Many thought Santander would head the way of Williams, following in the footsteps of Spaniard Carlos Sainz who also exits Ferrari at the end of this season. Santander is, after all, a Spanish brand through and through.
A partnership with Formula 1 itself didn’t seem to be on the cards, publicly at least, until the unexpected announcement on the 4th September. From the start of 2025, Santander answers to F1 directly, as the championship’s Retail Banking Partner.
As Grands Prix get bigger in scale and out-and-out popularity, so do the opportunities to activate partnerships in new locations. Santander distinguished the wood from the trees and seemingly focused its efforts on pitching to F1 rather than renewing its deal with Ferrari for this reason.
Attaching itself directly to the brand name – F1 – that most benefits from the increasing popularity of Grands Prix was surely a no brainer in this case. After all, FOM is a business which now facilitates its own in-house promoted Grand Prix in Las Vegas without the use of an independent promoter.
Santander can see the potential in the championship as a brand, and has so for many years, but jumped at the chance to showcase itself to a global audience with the championship itself, connecting with millions of fans worldwide, rather than taking a side.
The all-new partnership should enable Santander to leverage a larger proportion of F1’s audience, enhancing its brand recognition and engagement in markets around the world, whilst showcasing its own retail prowess.
With other brands seeking the same step-up, it begs the question, who else will follow?
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