This story is an abridged version of an issue of iSportConnect’s Sponsorship Index on Formula 1 sponsors which is powered by caytoo.

With the 2023 Formula 1 season having finished and the teams taking stock of the sponsorship sales strategy ahead of the 2024 season, caytoo analysed the ~360 sponsors of the 10 teams and F1 itself to understand how the landscape has changed over the last two years in terms of the fastest-growing and declining sectors.

The number of F1 sponsors has jumped considerably in that time by 23% due to a combination of various factors. These include F1’s growing global fan base across TV, race attendees and social media, that audience becoming younger and more gender diverse, plus a near 10% increase in the number of races (factoring in the 2024 schedule). This growth has been particularly pronounced in the US through the extra number of races held in ‘glitzy’ locations – Las Vegas, Miami and Austin – which are heavily promoted and also create more global interest.

Over 75% of sponsor growth is being driven by just three sectors – Information Technology, Financial Services and Consumer Goods – and all of these can be attributable in some way to the sport’s younger audience.

IT’s growth is dominated by Software brands; this sub sector seeing by far the biggest rise in the actual number of deals. F1’s emphasis around technology and innovation has always been a naturally strong fit with software and, although the sector itself doesn’t particularly target younger demographics from a purchasing perspective, many of the deals are centred around helping the teams to better engage with that fanbase, particularly on social, app and web channels.

For example, Salesforce x McLaren, with Salesforce stating the aim being: “to bring McLaren even closer to their fans across their digital platforms and deliver amazing digital experiences that help them connect with their global fanbase in a whole new way.”

The full version can be read at the iSport Connect Sponsorship Index.

And, where are the gaps?

The key hypothesis of a gap analysis is that a rights holder should prioritise targeting sectors that are (a) the most likely to sponsor your competitors but in which (b) you don’t currently have a sponsor.

This is because the sales pitch can highlight how common it is for rival brands in that sector to sponsor the rights holder’s competitive set (inferring many of the target brand’s competitors deem it an effective marketing channel) but there is a rare opportunity left for the targeted brand to do the same.

For example, the Formula 1 team T10 in the above chart should be prioritising Software, Accessories manufacturers and Materials/Chemicals firms as they are the only team without a sponsor from those sectors.