There are several famous stories of the thrifty brilliance of the late Eddie Jordan – one that always springs to mind was his unique way of getting sponsors for his eponymous team during its time in F3000.
Having tried – and failed – to convince Camel to partner with Jordan, the Irishman instead borrowed some Camel sponsorship stickers from rivals First Racing and put them on his car anyway.
Such was the want to show off that a team could attract sponsors, all that mattered to Jordan was to have a brand associated his his outfit – even if Camel hadn’t actually agreed, let alone paid, for the privilege.
Ask any Formula 1 fan of a certain vintage what their favourite retro livery is, and they are likely to select one closely linked to the sponsor of a specific car, rather than just the team or driver.
Fast forward to 2026 and we have seen several of the challengers for the upcoming season launched to much fanfare, and with a plethora of partners vying for space and attention on the livery.
At face value, the burgeoning partnership portfolios of all 11 teams on the grid is a result of the growth in popularity and, as a result, more eyes on the sport.
But there is something underneath the bodywork – quite literally – that has also led to an influx in partners.
The livery used to tell you who paid for the car. Now it tells you who helps build it.
It is now much more about having a sticker placed prominently on a car.
All you have to do is visit The Grid section of Sector to view the partners of each team to see how the majority now play a vital role in the operation of a modern F1 operation.
Mercedes recently announced Microsoft will be ingrained within the team from 2026, Williams has an Official Thinking Partner in Anthropic’s AI agent Claude.
SEALSQ provides post-quantum cybersecurity for Alpine and Ferrari won a multi-team scramble to partner with WHOOP – with its wearable fitness technology collating biometric data to shape human performance.
That only scratches the surface, look at McLaren and its back-to-back Constructors titles and Lando Norris’ drivers’ crown last year – the team has more partners than any of its rivals, most of which provide a key aspect of its success.
The livery used to tell you who paid for the car. Now it tells you who helps build it.
Eddie Jordan wanted Camel on the car to show he had a sponsor. Modern teams want partners inside the factory to give them the edge.
