Adidas shifts gears with Audi F1 ahead of 2026 debut

German sportswear giant Adidas has officially announced a partnership with Audi F1.

The deal, starting from 2026, sees the company expand its presence on the F1 grid.

Adidas already sponsors Audi’s German rivals Mercedes on the grid.

But Mercedes is no longer the only team donning the iconic three stripes.

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Adidas doubles its presence on the F1 grid with Audi

F1 fans across the globe are waking up this morning to some potentially pivotal commercial news.

German giant Adidas has announced an apparel sponsorship deal with Audi F1.

It represents a significant expansion of presence in F1 for the sportswear giants.

Earlier this year, the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team made a big announcement of its own.

It revealed that it had fought off a number of rivals to secure a ‘ground-breaking’ partnership with Adidas.

This apparel deal replaced the previous deal with American fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger.

Now, though, a fellow German brand appears to have gotten in on the action itself.

Few details have been released about what shape the Audi F1 team will actually take.

But one more domino has fallen with the announcement of the Adidas sponsorship.

Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley seemed delighted with the collaboration.

“This partnership brings together two iconic brands – the four rings and the three stripes – on a global stage, and it represents a bold step forward in our journey to the grid as the Audi F1 Team.”

Like his team principal, Audi CEO Gernot Dollner was equally as thrilled with the deal.

“Adidas and Audi have decades of collaboration in top-level sports – built on shared values and the desire to inspire through performance,” he said.

“Our partnership in Formula 1 goes far beyond the pursuit of innovation and peak performance: it combines the strengths and visions of two progressive brands.”

Long-awaited Audi F1 team is finally coming

The wider story of Audi finally taking the plunge into F1 is almost as interesting as the sponsorship itself.

Having dominated the World Rally Championship (WRC) and endurance racing, fans have cried out for an Audi entry for decades.

Last year saw the Ingolstadt brand announce a 100 percent takeover of the existing Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.

Since then, rumors have swirled about what the shape of the team will actually look like.

Back in July, Audi announced financial brand Revolut as the title sponsor of its maiden F1 adventure.

With the reveal of the title sponsor and the apparel sponsor, the new Audi F1 team appears to be taking shape.

How do you think the new Audi F1 team will fare in 2026? Will it be able to compete at the very top?