Spanish banking giant Santander and Ferrari will conclude their sponsorship agreement at the end of 2024 as the reported $60 million-a-year deal comes to an end.
A three-year contract was agreed in 2021, renewing a partnership that had initially run from 2010 to 2017.
As well as running its logo on the Ferrari F1 cars, caps and race suits, Santander was also on board the team’s 499P Le Mans Hypercars that have captured victory at the last two editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Last season’s F1 sponsorship revenue for Ferrari totalled an estimated figure just under the $250 million mark – of which Spanish bank Santander was the largest contributor.
“Ferrari announces the termination of the partnership between Ferrari S.p.A., its wholly-owned subsidiary, and Santander, effective as of December 31st, of 2024 since the committed three-year contract will end,” a statement read.
“The partnership, which began in January 2022 after a previous collaboration from 2010 to 2017, saw Santander alongside our Company in the sporting activities of the Prancing Horse. Santander has been Premium Partner of Scuderia Ferrari in Formula 1 and has been our partner in the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) programme.”
Having previously also sponsored McLaren in the past, Santander said it will now look for new partners.
Santander’s global head of communications, corporate marketing and research Juan Manuel Cendoya said: “We are extremely grateful to Ferrari for their partnership over the past three years.
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 1st position, celebrates on the podium
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“Sponsorships play an important role in engaging with clients and reinforcing our brand and we will continue to work with a range of partners in the years ahead.”
While Cendoya stopped short of confirming if those new partnership opportunities lay in F1, there is a chance that it could follow Spanish driver Carlos Sainz from Ferrari to Williams.
Sainz will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari next season and recently signed a two-year contract with Williams.
The timing of the expiration of Santander’s three-year agreement with the Prancing Horse means it could feasibly back the Spanish driver and his new squad.
Williams team boss James Vowles rebuffed suggestions Sainz’s arrival was in any part a commercial decision but did concede the news of the three-time race winners’ signing could push existing talks with sponsors over the line.
“If we step away from this, the real commercial benefit of all Formula 1 teams, by the way, is just performance,” he said.
“If you make your car quicker, or if you have drivers that push your car, or drivers pushing each other and pushing the car, that in turn provides you championship position and sponsorship income.
“It’s not like you have immediately, overnight, the phone’s ringing and someone’s offering you 20 million. That’s not how it takes place, but it is part of the journey that makes our way through.
“What I can say is we have existing sponsors that we’ve been talking to for six months, and for them, it may or may not have been the extra trigger that pushes them across the line.
Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“I’ve been consistent on that message and sponsors the same, so it doesn’t change everything overnight, but it will lead to more success in the future. I’m confident of it, but it’s a performance driven aspect.”
Last week, Williams dropped Logan Sargeant following another hefty crash during free practice for the Dutch Grand Prix.
He was replaced by Argentinian Franco Colapinto, with two companies – Globant and Mercado Libre – both founded in his homeland, joining Williams as sponsors in the days that followed.
“What I want to make very clear is that no sponsor was involved in his signing,” Vowles said ahead of Colapinto’s debut in Monza.
“We actually recruited him without knowing anything about the future. What happened next is that many Argentinian companies contacted us. That’s not over yet, as the phone is still ringing.
“However, they are simply paying the market price. So, it has little to do with Franco Colapinto; when we chose him, there was no financing involved.”
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