Formula One: Hugo Boss set to switch sponsorship from F1 to Formula E
By Alex Herbst
Longtime Formula One sponsor Hugo Boss will leave the Mercedes AMG Petronas team at the end of 2018 to move into Formula E as a partner.
Money makes the racing world go around, and nowhere is that more of the case than in Formula One. Unfortunately for one team, one of the longest-serving sponsors in the sport will be leaving at the end of 2018. Clothing outfitter Hugo Boss will switch their partnership from the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team to Formula E at the end of the next year.
Hugo Boss, which originally entered Formula One as a partner with the McLaren team, switched their sponsorship to Mercedes in 2015. Since then, the clothier has provided team apparel and uniforms for the championship-winning team. However, with the younger-skewing audience of Formula E growing, the company made the decision to move on from F1.
Company CEO Mark Langer confirmed the move to Formula E in an interview with German magazine Focus:
"“Of course Formula 1 is the top class of motor racing, but Formula E is more innovative and sustainable. The engines, the races in major cities – that is something a younger audience likes, which offers new opportunities. After many years in Formula 1, really since Jochen Mass in the 1970s, we have been thinking ‘what is the next thing?'”"
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It comes as no surprise to many that sponsors from around the motorsports world are now taking notice of Formula E. With big manufacturer influence and investment in recent years, and the arrival of Mercedes, Porsche, and Nissan in the next two years, the all-electric racing series is most certainly on the upswing. They also already enjoy strong ties to partners Qualcomm, DHL, Visa, and Julius Bar.
When Hugo Boss leaves Formula One in 2018, it will end a 37-year relationship between the company and the world championship. However, it does continue an alarming trend in many of the world’s top racing divisions with sponsors leaving, seeking new ground where younger audiences are growing. The same issues are being fought now in NASCAR, which has hemorrhaged major sponsors over the last three years.
Perhaps Hugo Boss will renew their sponsorship with Mercedes, but in a new way. With the Formula One team expanding to include a factory Formula E team in the coming years, perhaps Hugo Boss’s move to the electric side simply aligns with the direction of their current team partner.
Next: 2017-18 Formula E Driver Lineup Confirmed
Are you surprised to see a sponsor in Formula One jumping ship and heading to Formula E? The all-electric racing championship gears up for their new season starting at Hong Kong in just a few weeks. Tune in to the networks of FOX Sports in the United States for live coverage.