Formula 1 has today announced the extension of its Global Partnership with Heineken following seven years of successful collaboration between the two global brands.
Heineken remains in pole position as a F1 global partner, re-signing a global sponsorship extension for a further five years driven by the sport’s phenomenal growth in a broader demographic of fans.
Originally signed in 2016, the renewed partnership will focus on engaging the sport’s expanding generations of fans in meaningful and creative ways, promoting responsible consumption and providing world-class entertainment moments to showcase that F1 weekends are so much more than a race.
The growing popularity of the sport has seen F1’s total social media following explode by 23% since 2021, totalling 60.6 million, with significant growth in markets such as the USA which specifically saw a 42% boost from 2021.
The extended partnership will usher in a new phase in Heineken and F1’s relationship and focus on engaging Formula 1’s growing fanbase in meaningful and creative ways, whilst also providing world-class entertainment moments, including performances from Heineken’s newly announced global ambassador, Dutch superstar DJ Martin Garrix, who will begin a series of performances with Heineken across the season, starting at the Grand Prix in Canada.
This incredible growth of more diverse fans coming into the sport has furthered Heineken’s motivation to extend their partnership with F1. The Dutch beer brand has a clear focus on targeting this new audience with their responsible consumption messaging, including the launch of their new gaming initiative – Player 0.0, created with Heineken 0.0 ambassador Max Verstappen. These campaigns in collaboration with F1 will continue to focus on promoting the world’s most popular zero-alcohol beer, Heineken 0.0; the perfect pairing for a race weekend.
Since entering the world of motorsport in 2016, Heineken has been committed to driving real change towards the attitudes around drink driving, launching their ‘When You Drive, Never Drink’ campaign, and has also committed to investing 10%+ of all media budgets to supporting responsible consumption programs.
Alongside the partnership, Heineken will be the official Title Race Partner for the inaugural 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is set to create the perfect combination of world-class entertainment and exceptional fan experiences across the race weekend.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “Since our partnership with Heineken began in 2016 they have been an incredible partner that has focussed on delivering world-class events for all our fans that encompass the very best of sport and entertainment, and they have become a key part of the race weekend. The work that Heineken is doing to promote responsible drinking remains as important to us as the experiences they create for our fans, old and new, and we look forward to enhancing that throughout this season and beyond.”
Dolf van den Brink, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board at Heineken, said: “F1’s rapidly growing, ever-changing fanbase was one of the many reasons why we extended our partnership. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to continue delivering world-class fan experiences, while also developing our responsible consumption messages to an increasingly engaged and relevant audience. With the Heineken Silver Las Vegas race later this year set to be a highlight, 2023 is going to be the most exhilarating season yet!”