At the start of 2024, Oracle was the largest external sponsor of a Formula 1 team. The American brand has been associated with Red Bull for many years, playing a major role in software in addition to finance.
Since the Miami Grand Prix, however, Oracle has had to share the role of largest F1 sponsor with HP, which struck a huge sponsorship deal with Ferrari. HP also supplies the latest equipment to the Scuderia, which in addition to computers includes 3D printers.
RacingNews365 understands that Red Bull and Ferrari receive around $100 million in sponsorship money from Oracle and HP. As a result, the two brands top the list of biggest outside sponsors in F1, with Aramco in third place.
The Saudi Arabian-based brand works closely with Aston Martin and is said to contribute $75 million a year. Petronas (Mercedes' title sponsor) and Stake (Sauber's title partner) complete the top five.
Red Bull has also lost an important sponsor. The contract between Red Bull and Bybit expired at the end of 2024 and will not be renewed, leaving a hole for the team to fill. Red Bull is still expected to announce new sponsors soon.
In the table below, we have listed the five largest, external team sponsors currently, based on the amount of money they transfer to the team.
Looking at the total value of the deals, including software and hardware products provided by different sponsors, RacingNews365 understands that Oracle is probably still the largest external sponsor of an F1 team.
Note: all the figures below are estimates, based on consultations with different sources within the F1 paddock and at different teams.
Top 5 external sponsors of F1 teams in 2024
| Position | Sponsor | Team | Deal value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oracle | Red Bull Racing | 100 million |
| 1 | HP | Ferrari | 100 million |
| 3 | Aramco | Aston Martin | 75 million |
| 4 | Petronas | Mercedes | 70 million |
| 5 | Stake | Stake F1 Team | 50 million |
Oracle
Oracle is a software company that has long been active in F1. Currently, the American company is active as a sponsor of Red Bull, but in the 1990s it was also active in the championship.
At that time, it worked with the Benetton team, for which Jos Verstappen also drove. Besides transferring a huge amount of money to Red Bull every year, it also helps in the field of software.
For example, Oracle's software supports Red Bull's tactical team whilst making calculations for pit stop strategies.
HP
In Miami, Ferrari announced a major partnership with HP. The American tech company even became title sponsor of the Scuderia, and for that they had to dig deep.
In fact, HP has to transfer roughly $100 million annually to Maranello. That is a huge sum, but looking at Oracle's partnership with Red Bull, it seems to be more than paying off. HP is featured large on the Ferrari car and will be for the next few years.
The company develops hardware, including computers and 3D printing machines. On top of the money, therefore, HP will supply a lot of new technology to Ferrari.
Aramco
The Saudi oil group from Saudi Arabia is almost impossible to imagine F1 without. The sponsor is active not only as a partner of Aston Martin, but also as a sponsor of F1.
As a result, we see Aramco not only on the cars of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, but also at various circuits as a sponsor of the race itself. This makes the oil group an important, if not the most important external sponsor in the sport.
As of 2024, the company is the only sponsor name in Aston Martin's team name, making the sponsorship amount towards the team even larger.
Rumours are circulating that Aramco has shares in Lawrence Stroll's team, but that remains purely speculation.
Petronas
The fuel supplier from Malaysia has also been running within F1 for many years. Petronas has a strong partnership with Mercedes, for which it also supplies the fuel.
Together the two parties work to provide the best fuel for both the team and the customer teams.
In addition to the intensive cooperation on fuel development, Petronas also provides the Mercedes F1 team with an annual $70 million sum.
Stake
The Australian-based Stake is making great strides in F1. Whereas it initially went through life as a major sponsor of the Alfa Romeo team, in 2024 it stepped it up a notch.
From 2024, it has been Sauber's title partner. It will continue to be so in 2025, giving the Hinwil-based team two seasons of around $50 million a year.
It will not stop there, as the gambling company plans to launch a hefty activation campaign in F1 as well.
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