Germany’s typically-in-the-know Bild Magazine is reporting that Audi F1 and Adidas have tied the knot on a 2026 apparel deal. Though a confirmation has yet to be made by either Audi or Adidas, Bild claims their intel is good and that the deal is done and confirmation will arrive in the coming weeks.
Rumors had placed Audi somewhere between Adidas and chief rival Puma when it came to the apparel contract. Puma already has deals with existing F1 teams like Scuderia Ferrari and Williams. It also has deals with the Formula 1 series plus Grand Prix venue specific apparel, and the Netflix Drive to Survive series based on what can be found in the motorsport section of their website. They’ve also got other lucrative racing licensing deals with Porsche and BMW M.
Up until recently, it also had a deal with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team as well, though Mercedes made news at the beginning of the year by shifting to Adidas. Chatting up staff at the local Puma store over deeply discounted Mercedes-AMG wear, the general consensus was that the deal may have changed with the departure of driver Lewis Hamilton who may have his own ties with Puma.
Back at Audi, Audi Sport has had a relationship with Adidas in the past. For years, Ingolstadt’s DTM and Le Mans team wear came from Adidas, though this clothing was strictly for team staff and wasn’t sold to the public. This may have even made acquiring some vintage Audi Sport Adidas wear even more desirable to the most driven, but to Audi Sport it was a uniform and no joking matter. That availability though may be about to change.
More Than Other Racing Series, Apparel is a Staple of F1
For fans who just want some cool clothing, tie-ins with apparel brands are a great benefit. Though it’s rare, it does happen as we see with Puma’s association with Posche and BMW M. More common are tie-ins around franchise teams in highly-popular series like F1 where a much greater fan base is likely to buy some branded merchandise.
Handing apparel contracts to fashion brands also makes more sense. Whereas an in-house merch offering like Audi collection tends to be freshened at a slower pace, fashion brands tend to offer fresh styles with much shorter turnaround times and often based on seasons. Mercedes’ association with Adidas goes back to just the beginning of the year and we found three waves already of Mercedes-AMG product for the layout of this story.
Another benefit for consumers seeking apparel – you don’t have to go to a car dealership in order to get it. While it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Audi F1 merch at Audi dealerships, it’s more likely you’ll find the latest mix at the apparel brand store or on their website. A quick perusal of the Adidas website already shows a motorsport collection dominated by a broad collection of Mercedes-AMG Petronas merch, while a Google search shows a dedicated Mercedes-AMG Petronas shop as well.
Licensing Is a Big Deal
According to the Bild story, the Audi deal may be worth 25 million Euros. And while that sounds like a lot, this is Audi’s first foray. The more established and proven Mercedes-AMG Petronas team with their eight championship titles between 2014 and 2021 is reported to be upwards of 30 million Euros.
What Sort of Clothing Can We Expect?
Given nothing has been announced, this last part is guesswork. However, looking over the Mercedes-Benz, not to mention the other teams at Puma, this will most definitely include official uniform apparel for the team. One can likely expect to see similar apparel offerings to what we already see with Mercedes when it comes to commercially available goods for consumers.
As for colors, for now Audi has shown black and a red hue that’s a bit more orange than typical Audi Sport colors, yet consistent with more recent liveries seen on the Dakar-winning RS Q e-tron or Ken Block’s S1 Hoonitron. Whether or not this changes before Audi takes to the grid next year is yet to be known. Whether the deal goes even further similar to what Porsche does at Puma with a contract for classic and heritage product also remains to be seen, but the idea of Adidas’ trademark three-stripe designs being coded to Audi’s eighties trie-colors brown, beige and red seems like a cool idea.
PHOTO GALLERY MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS x ADIDAS
