Jess
After year long rumours, McLaren announced Mastercard as their title sponsor from 2026, at an event in Amsterdam today.
McLaren and Mastercard’s sponsorship debuted last year at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Mastercard revealing the updated livery. However, the partnership was announced months prior.
In 2024, reports emerged that McLaren would secure a title sponsor, with Mastercard appearing to be the leading candidate. Many fans urged a rethink, as teams’ larger legacy teams (such as McLaren, Williams and Ferrari) had gone without title partnerships for decades. Then, Ferrari announced their own title partnership with HP, and the rest is history.
Title sponsors appear to be the future of F1 partnerships, with the majority of the grid now having a title sponsor:
- BWT Alpine F1 Team
- Oracle Red Bull Racing
- Scuderia Ferrari HP
- McLaren Mastercard F1 Team
- Kick Sauber F1 Team
- VISA CASHAPP RB
- Aramco Aston Martin F1 Team
- Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team
- Moneygram Haas F1 Team
- Atlassian Williams Racing
Audi are rumoured to have Revolut as title sponsor, with Cadillac sponsors outside of Tommy Hilfiger still unclear.
Might we see Red make a comeback on McLaren’s livery next year to honour Mastercard’s colours as Ferrari does with HP blue? Fans have wanted an MP4-esque livery for some time now.
Alongside the partnership, McLaren has announced ‘Team Priceless’ – “a global initiative that will allow papaya fans to get closer to the team and action throughout the race calendar and experience a curated programme of activities,” which Mastercard will head.
There is no one more important to us than our awesome fans, so I could not be more delighted to enter this next chapter in our partnership with Mastercard with a promise to our Papaya Family around the world: that we will continue to put our fans first, bring them even closer to the team, and offer incredible experiences. Mastercard is a fantastic partner who shares our passion and values, so to have them on board as naming partner will offer us the perfect launch pad to keep pushing on and off track – and I cannot wait to see Team Priceless come to life in 2026. – McLaren CEO, Zak Brown.
