Petronas has been Mercedes’ title sponsor and technical partner in Formula 1 since 2010: in 2022 the two announced a multi-year renewal starting in 2026, reported at about 75 million dollars a year, centred on advanced sustainable fuel. It is the most cited example of a sponsorship that became a partnership: the brand is not just on the car but works inside the team, with fuels, lubricants and technology.

Updated September 2026.

When people ask who sponsors Mercedes in Formula 1, the name that always comes first is Petronas, and not by chance. The relationship between the Malaysian energy company and the Brackley team is one of the most solid commercial relationships in the whole paddock. Let us look at how it began, what it has brought to both sides and what changes today, with the new regulations and a wider list of partners.

Petronas and Mercedes: from sponsor to technical partner

Petronas has been the Mercedes team’s title sponsor since 2010, the year the German manufacturer returned to Formula 1 as a works team, and since then the team has been called Mercedes-AMG Petronas. It is a relationship that began as a sponsorship and became a technical collaboration: Petronas does not just put its logo on the car, it develops fuels and lubricants for the power units with Mercedes, supplying fluid technology and the test bed for its own research.

Results on track go with the story. Mercedes won eight consecutive constructors’ championships, from 2014 to 2021, and seven consecutive drivers’ championships, from 2014 to 2020. In 2020 Lewis Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world titles.

What Petronas gained

Petronas was already a large company before 2010: it is Malaysia’s state-owned energy group, present in more than 100 countries and symbolised by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, two skyscrapers 451.9 metres tall, the tallest twin towers in the world. Formula 1 gave it a global showcase.

The return is also measured in exposure. According to Petronas’ own figures, in the 2015 season Formula 1 gave it global media exposure worth 901.08 million dollars, a measure that adds up brand visibility at the race and across all the content around a race weekend. For a company that sells fuels and lubricants, the track is also a laboratory: a Formula 1 car is the best place to make a lubricant work at its limit and to tell the story. For more on how to assess this kind of return, see the advantages of sports sponsorship.

What Mercedes gained

For Mercedes, Petronas is much more than a sponsor that pays: it is part of the team and of its ability to develop the power unit. The financial contribution matters, but so does the technical side, with fuels and fluids developed together. After the split from Lewis Hamilton, who moved to Ferrari in 2025, and the arrival of Kimi Antonelli alongside George Russell, the team went through the change of cycle with its historic partner at its side. We talk about the Italian driver in our article on Antonelli’s Italian window.

The renewal beyond 2026 and sustainable fuel

On 28 September 2022 Mercedes and Petronas announced an early, multi-year renewal valid from 2026, reported at 75 million dollars a year. The heart of the deal is fuel: from 2026 the new Formula 1 regulations call for advanced sustainable fuels, and Petronas has committed to supplying them to the Mercedes power units, with the aim of also developing sustainable aviation fuel from 2027.

Toto Wolff summed up what the announcement means: “Our team and Petronas are no longer just partners, we are family, and we will be one team for many more years to come.” It is the line that best explains why a renewal announced in 2022 for a deal that starts in 2026 is more than a contractual detail: it is a signal.

Who sponsors Mercedes in Formula 1 in 2026

Alongside Petronas, which remains the title partner, the team today has a list of partners very different from ten years ago, with technology in the foreground:

• Petronas: title partner and technical partner since 2010, with the new agreement in force from 2026.
• INEOS: signed a five-year deal with Mercedes in February 2020 and, in December of the same year, acquired a third of the team. Today Mercedes-Benz, INEOS and Toto Wolff hold a third each.
• CrowdStrike: global partner of the team since 2019. In November 2025 its founder and CEO George Kurtz bought 15% of the third of the team held by Toto Wolff.
• Microsoft: since 22 January 2026 it is a title partner on a multi-year deal, with its brand on the cars and the drivers’ suits and cloud and artificial intelligence technology at the centre of the collaboration. Sky News puts it at around 60 million dollars a year.

A list like this shows where the sport is heading: teams look for partners that bring technology and capital, not just visibility. For a comparison with another team, read our analysis of the Red Bull Racing sponsorship portfolio.

The lesson for sponsors

Petronas and Mercedes show that sponsorship works when it becomes partnership: a brand that enters the team’s work, on a subject that is real for both, such as fuel. It is a model that takes time and a commitment to match. Today almost all Formula 1 teams ask for a minimum commitment of two years and, below 2 million dollars a year, you can no longer buy anything. The investment levels are in our guide to the cost of Formula 1 sponsorship, and to turn the deal into results you need a good sponsorship activation plan.

Sources: Formula 1, Mercedes and Petronas extend their partnership; BlackBook Motorsport, the Petronas renewal; The Edge Malaysia, Petronas’ F1 benefits; Wikipedia, the Petronas Towers; Microsoft, the partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas; GrandPrix247, Kurtz and Mercedes; ESPN, INEOS buys a third of Mercedes.