Adidas Is Serious About Investing in Formula 1
With insights from veteran Adidas executive Torben Schumacher and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 chief commercial officer Rich Sanders.
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I hate to say I told you so (I love it). But back in January, I really did tell you so.
When Adidas first announced its landmark partnership with the Mercedes AMG F1 team at the start of this year, people were sceptical. There were questions as to why a brand would make such a significant investment in a partnership with Mercedes F1, given that the team had just lost Lewis Hamilton, the sport’s one true breakout cultural sensation and undoubtedly its greatest (and only) fashion icon. Some commentators were also underwhelmed when Adidas unveiled the initial Mercedes F1 teamwear collection in February.
SportsVerse, still then in its infancy, came to the rescue with a breakdown on why the deal still presented an important growth opportunity for Adidas, especially given how few mainstream sportswear brands were involved in F1 (save for Adidas’ rivals, Puma).
I said it would take time for Adidas to roll out the partnership and settle on the strategies that made the most sense, but noted that the brand has an incredible network and unrivalled resources, which would come in handy if and when they wanted to get creative with this deal:
“Adidas will surely bring in some of its favourite collaborators to add some spice in the mix with co-branded products or race-day activations—that could be anyone from Pharrell Williams to Grace Wales Bonner to Stella McCartney to Bad Bunny.”
As it turns out, bringing one of their star collaborators into the mix on this partnership was exactly what the folks at Adidas were planning all along.
Last week, Adidas announced that Bad Bunny, the 3x Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican music sensation and a valuable Adidas collaborator, had become the newest team member of the Mercedes F1 team. The announcement was the biggest indication yet that the German sportswear giant is serious about its role in the F1 ecosystem, and is investing serious marketing dollars for the desired cultural impact.
The brand positioned this latest move as the beginning of a three-way collaboration between its fashion-focused Adidas Originals line, Mercedes F1 and Bad Bunny himself. Here’s how they brought it to life over the weekend:
On Saturday, a Mercedes-AMG F1 car driven by Esteban Gutiérrez made a landmark demo run across San Juan’s historic Puente Dos Hermanos Bridge. It was the first time an F1 car had raced on Puerto Rican soil, according to the brand.
After that, fans were able to get up close to the F1 car and view a curated exhibit of archival Mercedes-Benz racing gear, including race suits and other team memorabilia.
Then, at an open-air showcase, Adidas unveiled a new apparel collection, designed to be a first hint at what’s to come in collaboration between the brand, Bad Bunny, and Mercedes F1. Later, Adidas also used the moment to tease the upcoming Adidas Badbo 1.0, and all-new silhouette set to be Bad Bunny’s debut signature sneaker with the brand.
Speaking to SportsVerse, veteran Adidas executive Torben Schumacher explained the strategy:
"This was a moment that wasn't just about performance on the track or on the stage, but about the exponential impact of bringing true cultural forces like Bad Bunny and Mercedes-AMG Petronas together in a way that Adidas Originals is uniquely positioned to do,” said Schumacher, SVP, global general manager of Adidas Originals, Basketball and Partnerships at Adidas, who recently relocated the company’s new Los Angeles hub to drive its North America expansion, after 20 years at the German HQ.
“We're not interested in just showing up — we want to rewrite the boundaries between fashion, music, and sport."
Bringing a Partnership to Life With a Top Collaborator
A sportswear brand bringing in someone like Bad Bunny to infuse a Formula 1 partnership with some cultural excitement and fashion credibility isn’t new. It’s exactly what Puma did in 2023 when it announced its longtime collaborator A$AP Rocky as creative direction of its Formula 1 partnership (news which I broke back in my days reporting for The Business of Fashion).
But just because it’s been done before doesn’t mean it can’t be done better this time around. Until Adidas entered the game earlier this year, Puma had a near monopoly on F1 when it came to major sportswear brands involved in motorsports. The brand’s complacency may cost it dearly now Formula 1 is hot property, with companies like Adidas with greater fashion credibility piling in to get a slice of the pie.
Adidas is betting that it can parlay Bad Bunny’s red-hot appeal as a tastemaker into product sales and visibility for its upcoming releases from the Mercedes partnership — and with good reason. It’s coming up to the fifth anniversary of Bad Bunny’s first collaboration with the German sportswear giant, which has seen the Puerto Rican star become one of Adidas’ most valued non-athlete partners.
Bad Bunny has been a key piece in Adidas’ popularity among Latin consumers and has been relied upon by the brand to help turn several of its most prominent sneakers into global fashion sensations, from the Samba to the Gazelle to the Adizero SL 72. The sportswear giant appears to have elevated him to a higher status of collaborator as his contributions have grown all the more valuable, giving him an unofficial sub-brand of sorts to house all his co-created products.
Ahead of the Adidas-Mercedes F1 activation over the weekend, he teased a pair of motorsports-inspired Bad Bunny x adidas Adiracer GT sneakers — a fashion-forward silhouette with only subtle nods to its racing connection. This is exactly how to take a partnership related to a sport not known for driving major sales for sportswear brands and translate it into something with cross-cultural appeal and potential to sell fashion-forward products.
Turning F1 Sponsorship Dollars Into Sales
This helps Adidas create a three-tiered approach to the merch that derives from the partnership.
First, you have the apparel and footwear designed for drivers and team support staff. This brings both the performance credibility and visibility that any brand should look for in a high-profile sports team partnership.
Then, there’s the team replica merch and fanwear, bought and worn by fans of Mercedes and F1 purists for attending races or casual use. Since there is only a finite number of such consumers, this is never expected to be a top seller.
Finally, there’s the fashion-forward apparel and footwear which the brand will release (at higher price points) which is inspired by the partnership and can use the high-profile visibility of the partnership to sell products at volume. This is exactly where Adidas Originals x Bad Bunny begins to make sense. Over the next few months, we will begin to see this partnership roll out products like the Bad Bunny x adidas Adiracer GT sneakers, which will be positioned as high-heat fashion items rather than nerdy F1 fanwear.
And that is how you make a high budget partnership with an F1 team pay off, satisfying the needs of multiple interest groups all at once and (hopefully) translating into meaningful sales for Adidas in the long run. Again, it’s worth noting that team partnerships are never expected to be huge drivers of sales, and partnership fees are often absorbed by sportswear giant brands’ multibillion-dollar annual marketing budgets. But still, the objective always has to be to work out how to turn these deals into objects of cultural value.
And that is exactly why Adidas called upon Bad Bunny to show the sportswear category just how serious it is about investing in the booming sports-culture phenomenon that is Formula 1.
And let’s not forget how this is a perfect example of how a sports team (essentially a corporate organisation like any other) can benefit commercially from choosing its fashion partners strategically. Mercedes F1 has enjoyed great visibility in the fashion world over the years thanks to its previous apparel deal with Tommy Hilfiger. Now, teaming up with Adidas, Mercedes F1 is already excited at the prospect of tapping the brand’s vast network and cultural reach.
“We are truly pushing the boundaries across culture and sport, engaging new audiences as we do so,” said Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 chief commercial officer Rich Sanders, speaking to SportsVerse. “We’re excited to bring F1 to Puerto Rico for the first time in conjunction with Bad Bunny, who continues to break new ground as an artist and global icon.”
That’s all for today, friends. Thanks for being here.
See you next time,
DYM
I really, really, do not get the Bad Bunny appeal. I just can't see it. Clearly, I'm immune lol
I would add this also is a smart collab given Bad Bunny’s popularity with women, and F1s growing female fan base. Smart all around!