Ferrari announces UniCredit partnership from 2025 season

Ferrari has confirmed Italian bank UniCredit as a partner from the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Just days after it was announced that Santander and Ferrari would end their three-year partnership when their current agreement expires at the end of this year, it was announced that UniCredit will also come on board.

“Ferrari announces that, from January 1, 2025, UniCredit SpA will enter into a partnership with Ferrari SpA, its wholly owned subsidiary, to support it in its Formula 1 racing activities under a multi-year agreement,” a brief statement issued Monday morning said.

The team’s headquarters are in Milan, but it is not yet known what kind of sponsorship it will be. UniCredit could be a direct replacement for the departing Santander, whose logo was on Ferrari’s cars, racing suits and caps.

UniCredit has sponsored tennis tournaments and the UEFA Champions League in the past and is now also entering Formula 1.

Santander’s departure from the team’s partnership was announced during the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix, which was won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

In 2021, a three-year contract was signed, extending a partnership that originally ran from 2010 to 2017.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Ferrari’s total Formula 1 sponsorship revenues last season were estimated at just under $250 million, with Spanish bank Santander being the largest contributor.

Santander, which previously sponsored McLaren, said it is now looking for new partners.

Juan Manuel Cendoya, Global Head of Communications, Corporate Marketing and Research at Santander, said: “We are extremely grateful to Ferrari for their partnership over the past three years.

“Sponsorship plays an important role in engaging customers and strengthening our brand, and we will continue to work with a range of partners in the years ahead.”

While Cendoya would not confirm whether the new partnership opportunities lie in Formula 1, there is a possibility it could bring Spanish driver Carlos Sainz from Ferrari to Williams.
Sainz will be replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton next season. He recently signed a two-year contract with Williams.

The timing of Santander’s three-year contract with the Prancing Horse expiring means it is likely to back the Spanish driver and his new team.