Celsius Expands Motor Sports Presence With Scuderia Ferrari Partnership

Celsius, the energy drink that’s become ever more present in stores and on social media, is expanding its presence in the motor sports realm.

Besides being the primary sponsor for multiple Nascar teams in several races in 2023, Celsius Holdings, Inc. has inked a deal with Formula 1’s Scuderia Ferrari.

“Ferrari has been an iconic brand in Formula 1’s long history and we are thrilled to power the team with Celsius providing Essential Energy for peak performance,” Celsius CEO John Fieldly said in a statement. “Competing at the highest level of performance is in our DNA at Celsius and having a partner who shares our mindset and passion for performance is a perfect match.”

Celsius is utilizing its motor sports marketing program as a fresh way to emerge as an industry leader.

The energy drink space is crowded in terms of motor sports programs. Red Bull owns a Formula 1 team. Monster Energy sponsors dozens of racers across multiple racing divisions, including Nascar’s Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs. Nos Energy also sponsors the likes of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

“We had definitely been interested as a brand, seeing the trajectory of Formula 1, especially with the Netflix
NFLX
series,” Kyle Watson, Celsius’ head of marketing, said during a call. “For us, we’ve always tried to align with athletes in different verticals. With a lot of [Formula 1] being global, we wanted to dip our toe in versus going full force into a global partnership.

“It became an organic conversation with Ferrari. As a brand, this is a huge opportunity to drive some awareness and align some other things that we’re doing with all of our marketing.”

Celsius’ expansion into Formula 1 is a major step for the energy drink firm. The Celsius logo will be on the two Ferraris driven by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for all three grand prix in the United States, the first of which is in Miami next month. Additionally, Celsius will have a large activation plan for the races in Miami, Las Vegas and at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

In Nascar, Celsius’ strategy is unique. It sponsors multiple teams and several drivers, such as Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie, Kaulig Racing, as well as Live Fast Racing with BJ McLeod.

“We had a lot of drivers who specifically came to our brand and talked about how Celsius fit in their lifestyle and prepping for their races,” Watson said. “As a brand, we’ve always looked for that authentic partnership. Recently, there’s been even more interest. When we have an organic relationship with drivers, where they love our brand and our product, it’s a huge opportunity because it’s aspirational.”

Activation will be a major part of the brand’s motor sports experience going forward. Watson said they need to take advantage of the drivers’ natural love of the beverage.

“With F1 specifically, we’re testing the waters,” Watson said. “We’re able to activate around the events themselves. We’re focused on experiential and driving this emotional connection to our consumers. Something like F1 and these experiences definitely emotionally connect with people.”