What major new deal says about Alpine’s chances of becoming an F1 force again
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Athletic. The race is on. And as Alpine's upward curve continues on and off track with the announcement Gucci will be its title sponsor next year, is the team finally on a trajectory that will break it out of F1's midfield? I'm Ed Struer and joining me from where the deal was announced is John Noble. Well, John, the last time I was with you, we were in Montreal. I've just got back from the airport having flown overnight. So perhaps you can tell me and more importantly, the listeners and watchers exactly where you are.
I'm in Paris, the headquarters of Kering, which is the parent company of Gucci. They've had a press conference today. So I flew from Montreal Monday evening, landed in Paris yesterday, a bit jet lagged and tired after a red-eye flight. um wandered around went for run this morning beautiful hot super hot day but um yeah gorgeous building uh and f1's perhaps most interesting title sponsorship deal we've had for a while absolutely i have to say though it's definitely not recycle a joke i already made just before we started recording i'm disappointed you're not in a in a beautiful gucci suit that they've used to to buy you off Well, everyone here, all the staff, everybody's beautifully, impeccably dressed, as you can imagine.
So I'm afraid I'm just slumming it in my normal work wear.
What does the Gucci sponsorship deal mean for Alpine in F1?
We always bring the tone down when it comes to kind of luxury presentation. But we like to think we have substance. So that's the main thing. So perhaps you can tell us a little bit about what's been going on there, what we know about this Gucci deal, its title sponsorship for 2027 onwards. And that is, in multiple ways, a very big deal, isn't it?
Yeah, it's huge. There were no details given today. It's the inevitable thing that happens with sponsorship deals. You announce a major partnership, then the first questions are, how long is it for? What's it worth? And the answer is always, we can't say it's a long-term deal. But there were a few clues. Flavio Briatore let slip at one point when he mentioned it's until 2030. So we can guess then it's a three-year deal, which kind of makes sense anyway. And although there's no official figures on it, we believe it's worth somewhere between $50 million to $60 million per year. There's win bonuses on top. So if you're looking at a three-year deal, $50 million to $60 million, probably northwards of $150 million is roughly, I think, in the right ballpark.
And Gucci will get that back through increased activation, selling of clothes and merchandise and global presence. And for Alpine, although it's a budget cap era, extra money doesn't always mean you can spend more on your car. It is a good financial backstop to have. And it's also more important, I think, a statement of intent for this team that finished last year bottom of the Constructors' Championship on its knees. It's now pushing forwards and another step in Flavio Briatore's determination to get it winning again.
Yeah, and I have to say, when Flavio Biratori was appointed, I had my reservations for sporting integrity reasons, given everything that's gone on in the past. Those also stand. I talked about them and wrote about them at the time, but there was never any doubt about his commercial credentials, should we say. So... Do we want to put this down to the Flav effect in terms of being able to bring Gucci in? Yes, clearly Formula One is getting more and more of these kinds of companies in. It's a luxury brand and F1's kind of a logical place for it to be. But does this happen without Flav, particularly to this team?
Yeah, this is 100% a Flavio deal, and there's two aspects to this. The first is a personal relationship. We know that Luca Di Meo, the ex-Renault CEO, he moved to Kering last year. Di Meo got Flavio Briatore back to Formula 1 as his executive advisor. He's moved to Kering, and obviously they've seen an opportunity of Kering, parent company Gucci, to get involved in Formula 1. So Flavio's been absolutely at the heart of this deal. But equally, there's an element of Flavio seeing the changing game in Formula 1.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–1:26
2
What does the Gucci sponsorship deal mean for Alpine in F1?
1:26–4:20
3
How has Alpine's performance improved this season?
4:20–12:11
4
What role does Flavio Briatore play in Alpine's resurgence?
12:11–16:53
5
How does the new sponsorship impact Alpine's financial strategy?
16:53–24:28
6
What are the implications of Gucci's involvement in Formula 1?
24:28–35:09
Speakers
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