Gucci Joins F1 As Alpine's Title Sponsor, Bringing Us One Step Closer To Cigarettes Also Returning To F1

Alpine may be a French automaker, but Alpine F1 actually builds its race cars in England. So, of course, who else would make sense as Alpine F1's new title sponsor than an Italian fashion house? I mean, name one time in history that France, Italy, and England haven't all been best buds. You can't, because friends don't fight. Which is also why, when they wave the flag to officially start the 2027 season, Alpine F1 will officially compete as the Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team. That's right, folks, the Gucci Gang is going racing.

Not everyone who claims to be an F1 fan on the internet is going to love seeing the fashion brand that cursed the world with those stupid belts, but you know what? This kicks ass. F1's not especially interested in appealing to regular people, as the high cost of attending an F1 race so clearly demonstrates. We're allowed to watch on TV, sure, but F1 is still a sport for people with money, not people with jobs. Injecting luxury fashion into the mix just makes sense, and it's wild that it took until 2026 for an F1 team to finally attract a fashion house as a title sponsor. 

That also means F1's finally gone mainstream enough that a company such as Gucci sees value in cutting Alpine a massive check. If you're still mad about the belts, I promise I get it. I'd be perfectly happy to go the rest of my life without seeing another Gucci belt, too, but I promise this is good for the sport, at least if you want F1 to still exist in another decade. 

Considering the reaction when Jaguar showed off the Type 00 concept with fashion models in its marketing materials, don't be surprised if Gucci joining F1 as Alpine's title sponsor results in an "F1's gone woke" backlash. Certain people just can't help themselves. The sport where $100 million doesn't even cover the cost of an entire season has a sponsor that sells clothes you can't afford? And uses model who don't look like the people I know? Clearly, it's F1 that's lost the plot here, not you. 

Still, there's another reason Gucci joining F1 is such a big deal. You see, Italians still love cigarettes. The French? Also love cigarettes. Combine the two, and that pit's going to look like an ashtray in a smoky dive bar before the race even starts. If you're worried about the horrible health effects smoking has on people's bodies, that's, of course, not good. Cigarettes give you the kinds of cancers that end in what healthcare workers often call "bad deaths." Also, they smell terrible, and they aren't even that strong. Everything about cigarettes themselves is bad.

But on the other hand, think back to the time you thought F1 hit its peak. Odds are, no one on that team was sucking a vape with a flavor like "Strawberry Lemonade Mint Breeze." Those teams were chainsmoking cigarettes like they were about to expire, and one of those cigarette companies probably sponsored at least a few of the cars you remember. So-called "high school math teachers" will, of course, insist correlation does not imply causation, but come on. Tell me the evidence doesn't show that F1 got less exciting after the cigarettes disappeared.