Santander has become an F1 bank

Ana Botínpresident of Santander Bankand Stefano Domenicali, F1 CEOannounced the signing of an agreement that could mark a large part of Banco Santander’s future. The Spanish giant will become the official sponsor and bank of Formula 1 for 5 years from 2025 after its second phase in Ferrari this course.

Santander is about to withdraw from the signing Maranello in a global agreement indicating the brand’s direct presence in 8 Grand Prizes: both GP in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona)two of USA (Austin and Las Vegas)in addition to the events of Mexico, Brazil, Great Britain and another Grand Prix at Europe. And with doubts over whether Barcelona would go ahead, the bank secured both GP in Europe apart from its presence in Madrid (in the calendar from 2026).

In this way, the firm ensures a strong presence on the billboards of the aforementioned races in the main markets for its business, as well as the presence on the social networks of F1 and the ability to carry out many actions in hospitals , a perfect product for you best clients.

But above all, the movement of Santander, from being the most successful vehicle in history, to signing an agreement as an official partner (one step below global partner), serves to explain many things about how things have changed the company upon the arrival of Liberty Media as the owner of ‘Great Circus’.

With the help of the Americans, F1 changed a lot. The phenomenon Netflix from his series ‘Drive to Survive’ allowed the hobby to proliferate around the world and achieve something that Bernie Ecclestone never achieved: that F1 is installed among the most followed sports in USA.

Therefore, although many fans do not understand why F1 is interested in increasing the number of its races in the US, thereby potentially reducing historic events, this agreement serves as a good explanation. Santander, after several years in soccer, considers that F1 is the best sport to expand, especially in an American market where all foreign banks always fail when they try to enter.

Santander now has about 5 million customers there, although it is still very centralized in specific areas like New England. And hand in hand with F1 it can grow into a very important market where it will be launched Openbank and where it is now the 5th largest car financier, representing 1.5 billion euros in financing.

F1 looks to the US and, unlike football, visibility is greater and customer activations offer a 360º experience over the 4 days of the Grand Prix. Santander expects a return of 3 to 5 euros for every euro invested. The contract numbers are not known, but it is somewhat higher than the 20 million annually invested in Ferrari.

Stefano Domenicali

“We will live an exciting future”

“I am delighted that Santander, a great global brand, is a sponsor of Formula 1,” said Domenicali. “Santander has a long history in this sport and they know we can offer a great platform to continue introducing their brand around the world. We share a focus on sustainability, innovation and service excellence with our customers. clients and fans, and that is the most “We are delighted to announce this new sponsorship of Formula 1,” added Ana Botín. “For almost two decades, since Banesto began working in F1, the strength and global reach of this sport has helped Santander connect with its customers, deepen its relationships and strengthen our brand. This collaboration will help create value across the group and mark a new and important chapter in our relationship at a time when we continue to transform and grow our business,” said the president of Banco Santander.

Banco Santander began its relationship with F1 in 2007, as a sponsor of McLaren along with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Later, he continued with Alonso in the Renault brand Universiato be an important factor in the signing of the Asturian for Ferrari. In 2010, the Spanish firm joined the two-time champion in the Italian team, something that died Emilio Botín referred to as “the best marketing action in history” by the bank, where they made a five euro profit for each one invested, as the most visible signature of Ferrari cars on the track. In addition, it sponsored several Grand Prix at that time and its expansion was huge.

That relationship with Ferrari continued until 2017, when Santander opted for football with different competitions such as Champions League and LaLiga. However, as acknowledged by sources from the firm itself, despite the good results of that bet, they believe that F1 allows them more recognition and impact, as well as a better -offer experiences for their clients. It is a sport that is followed in all its markets. For this reason, they decided to return to Ferrari in 2021 with the Carlos Sainzuntil now, when they take another step to directly sponsor the sport in general, F1.

F1 is historically an English sport. Born there in 1950, with 7 teams out of a total of 10 based and factories in Great Britain. But over the years, this British enclosed preserve has become more and more a global phenomenon. And in it, the presence of a Spanish accent continues to rise. There’s Alonso, Sainz and Spanish-speaking pilots like ‘Checo’ Pérez and Cola pinto. Four out of twenty. And that can also be seen in the big companies present at the ‘Great Circus’.

A clear example of this is Santander, in love with the change the category is experiencing because of the enormous opportunity it offers not only to grow in the United States, but to participate in sustainability actions, a priority for F1, a thing closely related. in automotive vehicle financing. F1 is an increasingly fascinating showcase.