Ferrari and UniCredit will become partners from 2025 – The multi-year collaboration begins with the expiry of the current contract with Santander
Ferrari has confirmed Italian banking firm UniCredit as its new partner from the 2025 Formula 1 season. The announcement comes just days after Ferrari announced that its three-year partnership with Santander will end when the current agreement expires
In a press release issued on Monday, the company spoke of a “multi-year agreement” with UniCredit. However, it has yet to be confirmed what type of sponsorship is involved. But it could be that UniCredit is coming in as a direct replacement for Santander, whose logo was seen on the cars, race suits and caps.
UniCredit is headquartered in Milan and has sponsored tennis tournaments and the UEFA Champions League before entering Formula 1.
The departure of Spanish bank Santander from Ferrari’s partnership portfolio was announced on the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix, where Charles Leclerc scored an acclaimed home win for the Scuderia.
The three-year deal with Santander was signed in 2021 and follows on from a previous partnership from 2010 to 2017. Having also sponsored McLaren in the past, the company is now looking for new partners.
Juan Manuel Cendoya, Head of Communications, Corporate Marketing and Research at Santander, commented on the end of the partnership: “We are very grateful to Ferrari for their partnership over the past three years. ”
“Sponsorship plays an important role in engaging with customers and strengthening our brand, and we will continue to work with a number of partners in the coming years.” Cendoya initially left open whether these new partnership opportunities will exist in Formula 1.
However, there is a possibility that Santander will follow Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, who will leave Ferrari for Williams at the end of this season.
Williams team principal James Vowles dismissed suggestions that the signing of Sainz was in any way a commercial decision, but acknowledged that news of the three-time Grand Prix winner’s signing could boost ongoing talks with sponsors.
Last season, Ferrari’s Formula 1 sponsorship revenue is estimated to have amounted to just under 250 million dollars (226 million euros), with Spanish bank Santander accounting for the largest share.