McLaren Racing and Aston Martin Aramco have each signed multi-year sponsorship agreements with Dirt Is Good, the global brand platform spanning Unilever detergent products including Persil, OMO, and Surf. McLaren's deal routes through Global, the brand's European trademark; Aston Martin's flows through Aquame, its regional variant. Both contracts include activation rights across F1 Academy, the FIA-sanctioned women's championship now in its second season.
The signings put Dirt Is Good branding on two constructors fighting different battles. McLaren sits second in the 2025 standings with 186 points through seven rounds, 29 points behind Red Bull, chasing its first constructors' title since 1998. Aston Martin holds fifth with 86 points, defending a midfield position against Alpine and RB while Mike Krack's technical rebuild enters year three. Neither team disclosed patch placement or annual contract value, but comparable mid-tier F1 partnerships in 2024 carried $8M–$15M annual minimums for constructor logos plus another $2M–$4M for academy extensions.
The F1 Academy component matters more than the line-item suggests. Unilever's Dirt Is Good platform has run since 2016 on a creative thesis—outdoor play, mess, movement—that maps cleanly onto women's motorsport positioning. The brand already sponsors Bianca Bustamante (McLaren Academy, F1 Academy race winner) and Lola Lovinfosse (who tested with Aston Martin in Abu Dhabi post-season last year). F1 Academy's 2025 calendar runs seven rounds, five supporting Grands Prix including Miami and Budapest, with live Sky Sports coverage. That broadcast footprint gives sponsors 70+ hours of women's racing annually, still cheap relative to main paddock exposure but climbing in value as F1's demographic tilt continues. Liberty Media reported 38% female viewership growth in the 18–34 bracket from 2021 to 2024; brands are buying early.
The dual signing also reflects constructor desperation for consumer packaged goods (CPG) logos. Crypto volatility and fintech retrenchment cost F1 teams an estimated $120M in partnership revenue in 2023–2024. Detergent, by contrast, ships in 190 countries, survives recessions, and tolerates multi-year commitments. Unilever's annual marketing budget exceeds €8 billion; Dirt Is Good allocates roughly €400M globally, with sports historically claiming 12–15% of that. McLaren's CPG roster already includes Splunk and OKX at tech-hybrid scale; Aston Martin's sponsorship stack leans luxury (Girard-Perregaux, Lucid Motors) but lacks household scale below Aramco. The Aquame deal fills that.
Kit updates for both teams are expected before the Miami Grand Prix, May 2–4, where F1 Academy also races. McLaren will likely place Global branding on the engine cover spine or rear-wing endplate; Aston Martin typically reserves halo or sidepod real estate for new sponsors at mid-tier. Watch for Bustamante and Lovinfosse to appear in Dirt Is Good–branded race suits during Academy rounds, a lower-cost activation that plays well on social.
Unilever's motorsport strategy now spans two constructors, two academy drivers, and seven broadcast weekends, all contracted past 2027. The company hasn't disclosed whether it's exploring MotoGP or Formula E, but its detergent competitors—P&G's Tide, Henkel's Persil—remain absent from top-tier motorsport. The window is open.
The takeaway
Unilever locks two F1 constructors and F1 Academy presence through 2027-plus, filling CPG sponsorship void post-crypto.
mclarenaston martinf1 academysponsorshipunileverdirt is good
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