Gulf War Erupts in F1 as $27 Billion Worth Behemoth Ousts Emirates to Establish Dominance

The F1 circus travels throughout the world because of its jam-packed race calendar. Amid all this, Air travel becomes a necessity of the sport as the teams and drivers are constantly on the go. As a result, F1 becomes an excellent field for airlines to advertise in. Airlines have often contested with one another to become Formula One’s airline sponsor. At the end of 2022, Formula 1 ended its sponsorship deal with Dubai-based Emirates. After almost a decade of partnership, the airlines shall not be a sponsor of F1 anymore.

SportBusiness.com has claimed that a new airline partner is to replace Emirates. According to the report, this partner will be Qatar Airways, the Qatari airline company. The official announcement is expected to be made shortly before the first race in Bahrain. The $27 billion worth airline’s extensive sports partnership portfolio also includes the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Concacaf and Conmebol. Qatar Airways is also the title sponsor of the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Series.

F1 and Emirates first announced their partnership in 2013. The airline has been the sponsor of the apex of motor sporting since then. Talks of Emirates pulling out of the sport were on since early 2022. The probable reason for this was that the financial demands F1 made were not agreeable to Emirates.

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Currently, F1’s main partners include Aramco, AWS, Crypto.com, DHL, Heineken, MSC Cruises, Pirelli, Rolex and Salesforce. With the rise in viewership outside Europe, more sponsors now make a beeline to sponsor Formula 1.

The leading cause of rise in viewership for F1

The Netflix docuseries, Drive to Survive has played a significant role in F1’s exponential viewership rise. Bringing their audience behind the scenes of the racing world, bringing the adrenalin action and a lot more from the racetrack to screens, the grapevine brought to the viewer from the secret corners of the paddock has got views very close to their favorites.

With an increase in viewership post the Liberty media takeover, the sport is becoming more lucrative for businesses. Three of American GPs and other venues outside Europe will see a lot of racing in turn, a lot of publicity for whosoever will be a sponsor for the sport.

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Formula 1 will have 23 races in the 2023 season. With such a packed calendar and growing viewership, it is natural that the sponsors will flow in. The recent replacement of Emirates does point towards the very fact that there is no dearth of sponsors in the sport.