Madrid, December 9, 2024. Santander today announced a new sponsorship with the Williams Racing Formula 1 team. The bank will become an official sponsor of the team from the 2025 season. This multi-year agreement will complement the F1 sponsorship, as Santander will also become the official bank of the competition in 2025.
This sponsorship will allow Santander to offer customers exclusive experiences, with paddock access and events with drivers. Williams Racing also offers Banco Santander a global platform to increase its brand visibility, especially in the United States, where there are three F1 races and the team will showcase the Openbank brand, following the recent launch of the brand in the country. The partnership includes the presence of Santander or Openbank logos on the top of the race car chassis, on the chin of the drivers’ helmet and on the team’s sleeve, as well as participation in exclusive events and digital campaigns.
Juan Manuel Cendoya, Head of Communications, Corporate Marketing and Research at Banco Santander and Vice President of Santander Spain, said: “We are delighted to sponsor Williams Racing with an agreement that will allow us to offer exclusive experiences to our customers and continue to support Carlos Sainz in his new phase. This is one of F1’s most historic and legacy teams, and complements our role as the official bank of the competition with a focus on our core markets.”
James Vowles, Williams Racing Team Principal, said: “Williams Racing is proud to add Santander to our growing list of iconic and innovative partners from 2025. Joining forces with a major global bank trusted by tens of millions of people around the world is another significant step in our transformation and we look forward to working with Santander to engage and excite fans for years to come.”
Santander branding will appear on the car for this week’s end-of-season testing in Abu Dhabi.
Santander has been involved in F1 for 15 years since 2006, with sponsorship of races and teams such as Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren.
Official partner of Formula 1®
Santander will also become the official retail banking partner of Formula 1® in a multi-year agreement starting in 2025. The partnership will strengthen the bank’s visibility within its core markets, showcasing the Santander and Openbank brands.
Formula 1 is one of the most watched sports in the world, with a cumulative global audience of 1.35 billion in 2023, according to Nielsen. Sixty percent of this audience is in Santander’s core markets, with a growing reach in the United States and in young audiences around the world. F1 has 24 Grands Prix in 20 countries, many of them in Santander’s core markets in Europe and the Americas.
