adidas has announced a landmark multi-year partnership with the future Audi F1 Team, set to debut ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The deal positions adidas not just as an Official Team Partner, but as a co-architect of how the Audi project will be presented to the world, from high-performance gear in the paddock to global fanwear collections.
For Audi, preparing for its long-awaited F1 debut, the partnership gives instant lifestyle credibility and access to Adidas’ expertise in design, performance and brand storytelling. For adidas, it extends the Three Stripes’ growing presence in motorsport, a sport the company describes as one of the fastest growing in the world.
A Collaboration Rooted in Performance and Style
The announcement signals more than a kit supply deal. Adidas and Audi will work together to produce a full range of technical gear – from race-day suits for drivers to role-specific equipment for engineers and mechanics. This equipment will integrate adidas’ latest innovations, with a focus on enhancing human performance in the most demanding sporting environment.
But there is also a clear cultural play. adidas describes the partnership as a chance to bring a “fresh approach to the paddock and beyond”, introducing design that reflects both the cutting-edge of performance and the influence of lifestyle and fashion. It’s a strategy that mirrors the way Formula 1 itself has expanded its cultural footprint in recent years, from Netflix docuseries to collaborations with luxury fashion houses.
Fans at the Heart
From day one, both brands have made clear that fans sit at the centre of this partnership. The collaboration will deliver a global range of apparel, footwear and accessories, available before the team even turns a wheel in competition. The aim is to ensure supporters can show allegiance in style ahead of Audi’s first race, making the team’s debut season not only a sporting moment but also a consumer event.
As adidas CEO Bjoern Gulden put it:
“Bringing together the iconic Four Rings and our Three Stripes to the 2026 paddock marks an exciting new chapter in motorsport… We are very much looking forward to unveil all that we have planned as we look to enable the drivers and the team to succeed and engage a new generation of motorsport fans.”
Building on Shared History
The partnership also reflects a longstanding relationship. adidas and Audi have worked together across multiple sporting platforms for decades, and this Formula 1 project represents a natural evolution of that collaboration.
Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi AG and Chairman of Sauber Motorsport AG, stressed that this was about more than performance:
“adidas and Audi have decades of collaboration in top-level sports – built on shared values and the desire to inspire through performance. 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.”
For Audi, the collaboration brings brand alignment at a critical moment. The company is preparing to re-enter motorsport’s premier class with a new design philosophy emphasising clarity and precision – qualities Döllner says will also define the new adidas collection.
Credit: Bratic,Hasan / Action Press / picturedesk.comThe Team Perspective
From inside the paddock, the partnership is framed as a performance advantage. Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal of the future Audi F1 Team, highlighted the importance of equipping staff with the best possible technical kit:
“With adidas, we’re equipping our team with role-specific elite technical sporting gear that enhances human performance. Beyond the race, our shared ambition is to inspire a new generation of motorsport fans through innovation, style, and an unwavering pursuit of excellence.”
More Than a Debut
The adidas × Audi F1 collection will be unveiled globally in February 2026, just before the team’s much-anticipated first race. For both brands, it represents a way of staking out territory early: aligning Audi’s entry into Formula 1 with one of the most recognisable sportswear brands in the world.
This is a partnership that combines substance with symbolism. For Audi, it ensures their first impression on the grid is accompanied by a global design powerhouse. For adidas, it confirms their intent to be more than a supplier – they want to shape the culture of motorsport at a moment when the sport is expanding like never before.
In bringing the Four Rings and the Three Stripes together, the partnership underscores how Formula 1 is increasingly about more than the stopwatch. It is about identity, culture, and the power of sport to connect brands and fans on a global stage.
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