Alpine will start the 2027 Formula 1 season with a different name on the grid and a commercial partner that has no precedent in the category. Gucci will take on the role of the team's main sponsor, and the team will be renamed Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team, an alliance that puts a luxury fashion house in that position for the first time in the history of the championship. The agreement ends the era of BWT, which had occupied that space since 2022.

Photo By Alpine

The new platform, named Gucci Racing, will seek to integrate the Italian firm’s visual identity into the car’s design and into fan and customer experiences, while the team is going through an upward competitive moment. Alpine reaches this agreement sitting in fifth place in the constructors’ championship with 35 points – its best ever start in the category – and with Franco Colapinto scoring 15 points, which places him 11th in the drivers’ standings.

This change comes at a particular moment for the team, as the closure of Renault’s engine factory in Viry‑Châtillon and the switch to Mercedes power units in 2026 had, over recent years, fuelled speculation about a possible sale of the project. Those rumours intensified with the entry of the Otro Capital fund in 2023, which acquired 24 percent of the structure, and with the subsequent involvement of figures such as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Flavio Briatore repeatedly denied that the team was for sale, although he confirmed that the 24 percent stake was in negotiations. The partnership with Gucci dispels the image of a project in retreat and aligns it with a long‑term commercial sustainability strategy.

Photo By Alpine

Briatore said he was proud to link Alpine with a firm of such stature and recalled that the Enstone factory had already shown that fashion can win in F1. BWT bids farewell to the structure after five seasons. The Austrian water‑treatment company was one of the most noticeable visual presences in the championship during this cycle, with the colour pink integrated into the team’s corporate blue. The arrival of Gucci changes that aesthetic and steers it toward luxury.

The new name will come into use in 2027. Until then, Alpine retains its current designation.