Formula 1 has announced a ‘long-term’ global sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant, Saudi Aramco.
Saudi Aramco is the world’s most valuable company following a recent stock market listing of just 1.5 per cent of the company. which valued it almost $2 trillion, and one of the most valuable in terms of profits which exceeded $110bn in 2019.
As part of the sponsor deal, Saudi Aramco joins F1’s global partner’s DHL, Emirates, Heineken, Pirelli and Rolex.
Saudi Aramco will become the title sponsor of the US, Spanish and Hungarian Grands Prix in 2020 .
It will also work with F1 on developing sustainable fuels, enhanced engine efficiencies and emerging mobility technology in a bid to accelerate the sport’s sustainability plan.
“We are delighted to welcome Aramco to the Formula 1 family as a long-term Global Partner as we start our 2020 season,” said Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey.
“We are looking forward to sharing our combined expertise and working with Aramco on technological innovation and we will benefit hugely from its capabilities and expertise in the fuel and energy sector.”
The deal is expected to be part of a wider expansion into Saudi Arabia which recently announced plans to host a round of the F1 Championship at a newly constructed purpose-built circuit in a new entertainment and business development outside of the capital city, Riyadh.
Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser added: “We are excited to partner with Formula 1, a strong global sports brand with millions of fans around the world. As the world’s largest energy supplier and an innovation leader, we have the ambition to find game-changing solutions for better-performing engines and cleaner energy. Partnerships like these are important to help us to deliver on our ambitions.”
