The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team is hiring a “marketing operations driver clothing executive” to help its 2025 drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli dress themselves off-track, according to a job posting on its website. The new employee will be responsible for ordering and styling in the drivers’ personal, fitness, travel, and marketing event wardrobes. Mercedes did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.The job opening follows the announcement earlier this year that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will depart from the team to drive for Ferrari. Hamilton, an ambassador for Dior Men and co-chair of the upcoming Met Gala, treats the F1 paddock as his runway, where he dons bespoke designer outfits and posts images of them to his nearly 38 million Instagram followers. Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari will also mark the end of Mercedes’s partnership with Tommy Hilfiger, which began in 2018 and provided team uniforms. Following Hamilton’s departure, Adidas will provide team wear. All these switches in brand partnerships mean Mercedes has to ensure drivers don’t accidentally wear a competitor’s brand, one of the responsibilities assigned to its incoming clothing executive. F1’s fashion feverDespite F1 being in the business of cars boasting record-shattering speeds and intricate aerodynamic designs, fashion and apparel have played an increasing role in raising the sport’s visibility, which was given a massive boost by Netflix’s docuseries Drive to Survive. An F1 team was on average valued at $1.88 billion in 2023, according to BlackBook Motorsport, a 279% increase from 2019, the year Drive to Survive debuted.“With F1 becoming more popular around the world, but particularly in the U.S., I also think the fashion world has realized the potential that the sport has to reach global audiences,” Hamilton told Business of Fashion in 2023.It’s why Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Visa Cash App Racing Bull’s driver Yuki Tsunoda rock up to the paddock in Hugo Boss, and why Russell and Hamilton flash IWC Schaffhausen watches on their wrist in media sessions and post-race interviews. F1 lives and dies by its sponsorships—which have shoveled $30 billion at the sport over the past 15 years. Beyond the cash infusion that high-end brand partnerships promise, they also offer a strategic advantage in appealing to F1’s growing audience—and one that’s becoming increasingly female. Tommy Hilfiger, one of luxury’s most popular brands among women, is a sponsor of the all-women support series F1 Academy, in addition to being a longtime partner with Mercedes. And McLaren’s partner Reiss bills itself as a streetwear brand with notably unisex silhouettes.F1’s immersion in the world of luxury fashion was further validated by its 10-year sponsorship deal with LVMH announced last month, potentially worth $1 billion. LVMH’s TAG Heuer watch brand will replace Rolex’s presence on F1 promotional images, including its logo on race tracks’ start/finish lines starting in 2025. Brands Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy are also included in the deal.“In recent years, Formula 1 has truly become one of the most desirable sports in the world,” LVMH Watches CEO Frederic Arnault said in a statement. “We are only at the very beginning of this partnership.”Upcoming event: Join business's brightest minds and boldest leaders at the Fortune Global Forum, convening November 11 and 12 in New York City. Thought-provoking sessions and off-the-record discussions feature Fortune 500 CEOs, former Cabinet members and global Ambassadors, and 7x world champion Tom Brady–among many others.
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