Vercel signs Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One deal

Vercel has signed a multi-year partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, linking the technology company with one of Formula One’s most prominent teams.

Under the agreement, Vercel branding will appear on the team’s race cars, and the two organisations will work on digital experiences, customer engagement and content. The deal also includes plans to move Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS digital platforms to Vercel.

The partnership goes beyond branding and marketing into technical work on the team’s online presence. It covers global branding rights and hospitality, as well as product and platform development tied to fan, customer and partner interactions.

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS has built one of the largest commercial and sporting profiles in Formula One, making team partnerships an attractive route for technology companies seeking global visibility. For Vercel, the tie-up places its name in a sport that has become a significant platform for business-to-business networking and international consumer marketing.

Digital focus

A central part of the agreement is the planned development of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS’s digital platforms with Vercel. That points to a relationship aimed not only at sponsorship exposure, but also at practical involvement in how the team manages websites, digital products and online content.

Vercel is best known as the company behind Next.js, a web development framework widely used by software teams building websites and applications. In recent years, it has expanded its pitch around infrastructure for AI-related software and tools that developers use to build and deploy digital services.

That technical positioning helps explain why the partnership has been framed around speed, engineering and optimisation, themes closely associated with Formula One. Motorsport teams increasingly present themselves as technology businesses as well as sporting organisations, and commercial partnerships often reflect that blend.

Richard Sanders, Chief Commercial Officer of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, described the rationale for the deal in terms of shared priorities.

“Formula One is where every millisecond matters, every decision counts, and continuous innovation is fundamental to success. Vercel shares that same philosophy,” Sanders said.

“The Vercel platform is helping organizations around the world build faster, perform better, and innovate with confidence. We are excited to welcome Vercel to the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team and look forward to building a partnership that delivers value both on and off the track,” he added.

Commercial reach

The agreement reflects Formula One’s widening appeal to technology companies looking for both brand recognition and commercial access. Teams now sell sponsorship packages that combine logo placement, hospitality, customer events, executive access and collaborative technology projects.

For Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS, the deal adds another technology partner to a roster that has long included companies involved in software, data, engineering and communications. Such relationships can help teams support internal operations while also broadening sponsorship income.

For Vercel, the partnership offers a chance to present its products to business customers through a sport that increasingly attracts senior executives, software buyers and corporate partners. Formula One has become a venue where companies blend traditional sponsorship with business development and customer relationship activity.

Guillermo Rauch, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vercel, drew a direct comparison between motorsport and software delivery.

“Speed wins. It’s true on the track, and it’s true on the web,” Rauch said.

“Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS is one of the fastest teams in world sport, and we’re proud to support a team that shares our obsession for engineering excellence and relentless optimization,” he added.

Rauch also gave a separate short statement as part of the announcement.

“If it’s fast, it’s on Vercel.”

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS employs more than 2,000 people across its Brackley and Brixworth operations in the UK and remains one of the most successful teams of the modern Formula One era, having won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2014 to 2021.

Vercel says its platform is used by OpenAI, Ramp, Supreme and millions of developers, underscoring its ambition to be seen not only as a web infrastructure provider, but also as a company serving the growing market for AI-related software development.

The combination of visible car branding and back-end digital collaboration shows how Formula One sponsorships are evolving from straightforward advertising into broader technology and commercial agreements. In this case, the clearest operational element is the plan to develop the team’s digital platforms with Vercel.