AI is no longer just a buzzword in Formula 1 — it is becoming part of the machinery that helps teams race, spend and win. From the pit wall to sponsorship deals, Formula 1 AI partnerships are multiplying fast, and the sport’s latest commercial moves show just how deeply this technology is being stitched into the grid.
According to research firm Ampere Analysis, eight new AI partnerships were signed across Formula 1 and its teams in just the past six months. That is a remarkable pace for a sport already known for constant innovation. In a paddock where every millisecond matters, AI is being pitched not as a novelty, but as a serious competitive edge.
One of the clearest examples is Atlassian Williams F1, the nine-time constructors’ champion team that has teamed up with AI firm Anthropic and its Claude model. The partnership is designed to support both team operations and race strategy, and Williams says it is about much more than branding.
“It’s much more than a sticker on a car or a sticker in a billboard,” Peter Kenyon, a board advisor at Williams, said. “We see it as one of our differentiating points: how can this partner help us in that journey back to the top?”
For a team that has spent years rebuilding its competitiveness, the attraction is obvious. AI can crunch massive datasets, help identify patterns faster than humans can, and support decisions in a sport where strategy calls can define a race. Williams says the collaboration with Anthropic and its own technical staff is aimed at finding practical applications that can help the team perform better and also showcase the technology.
That reflects a broader shift in Formula 1’s commercial landscape. In the old days, the cars were plastered with tobacco logos and traditional consumer brands. Today, the biggest names on the grid are increasingly tech companies, cloud providers and AI firms looking for both credibility and global exposure.
The sport’s financial scale helps explain the rush. AI may be grabbing headlines, but the numbers behind Formula 1 sponsorship are just as striking. Technology was the leading spending category among F1 teams last season, reaching an estimated US$769-million, according to SponsorUnited. That figure was 41% higher than the year before.
Even more telling, AI and machine learning brands now make up four of the top 15 new sponsorship investors in the sport, the same report found. Among them is CoreWeave, the US$65-billion cloud infrastructure company that has partnered with Aston Martin F1. For tech firms, Formula 1 offers a rare combination: a high-performance environment, a global broadcast platform and an audience that understands innovation.
At the same time, teams are under pressure to do more with less. The sport’s US$215-million cost cap has forced F1 outfits to become more disciplined, more data-driven and more efficient in the way they operate. That is exactly where AI is proving useful. It can help teams navigate the constant stream of regulatory changes and technical restrictions while keeping spending under control.
As Adam Lewis, a senior analyst at Ampere Analysis, put it, “Efficiency is one of the ubiquitous benefits of AI products, meaning a natural synergy between teams and AI brands.”
Formula 1 AI partnerships are reshaping the paddock
For Oracle Red Bull Racing, AI is not just a background tool — it is becoming part of the team’s operating rhythm. Jack Harington, group partnership lead at Red Bull Racing, said the technology has moved beyond simple search functions and into something far more advanced.
“So, it’s gone from a sort of basic AI to more of an agentic approach where rather than just searching for something, it’s actually providing decisions for us,” Harington said.
That shift matters in a sport where engineers and strategists are expected to process huge volumes of live data in real time. Red Bull, the team of four-time world champion Max Verstappen, has long been one of the most technologically sophisticated outfits on the grid, and its partnership with Oracle, the US$494-billion software company, has helped deepen that reputation.
Harington said AI helps the team offload administrative work and sharpen its focus on the core tasks that can make the difference on race day. In practical terms, that means engineers can spend more time analysing performance and less time buried in repetitive processes.
The change is not limited to the teams. Formula 1 itself has embraced AI in ways that are visible to fans even if they do not always notice it. The championship’s partnership with Amazon Web Services uses generative AI to support live television broadcasting. In 2024, F1 also used generative AI in the design of the Montreal trophy, after it was initially crafted by a silversmith in the UK.
That blend of heritage and machine intelligence speaks volumes about where the sport is headed. Formula 1 still sells itself on speed, engineering and human skill, but the data layer beneath the racing is becoming just as important as the cars themselves.
Companies outside motorsport are also benefiting from the association. Google, for example, has used its place in the F1 ecosystem to shift attention toward its Gemini generative AI product, rather than simply promoting hardware such as the Google Pixel. For blue-chip brands, the sport has become a global launchpad for product storytelling.
Lenovo, one of Formula 1’s global partners, says the appeal lies in the sport’s relentless appetite for progress. The company’s global CIO, Arthur Hu, said F1 has an “unquenchable thirst” for the latest technology.
Hu explained that Lenovo supports Formula 1 with laptops, devices and AI PCs that help improve productivity, mobility and remote collaboration across race operations. In a sport where teams travel constantly and must perform under pressure in different time zones, those efficiencies are not trivial.
He added that Formula 1 is at the sweet spot because it is an intensely technical sport, which opens the door to even more innovation. That is exactly why the category is proving so attractive to AI companies looking for real-world proof of value, not just glossy marketing.
For the sport, the business case is equally strong. In 2025, Formula 1 generated US$2.54-billion in total team sponsorship, making it the second-highest grossing sports property behind the National Football League, which recorded US$2.7-billion. That scale gives F1 enormous leverage when courting new technology partners.
And for teams like Williams, Red Bull and Aston Martin, the message is becoming increasingly clear: the next performance gain may not come from a new wing or tyre strategy, but from the intelligent systems helping teams interpret the race before the chequered flag falls. As we continue to track the business of sport, our view is simple — Formula 1 AI partnerships are no longer a sideshow. They are fast becoming one of the sport’s most important battlegrounds.