Infiniti leaves F1
The time has come for refocusing within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. While Renault will make way for Alpine, it has also been decided that Infiniti will no longer be displayed on the sides of the single-seaters.
It’s the end of a ten-year journey. In 2011, Infiniti made its debut in F1 as a sponsor of Red Bull, which was powered by Renault at the time. It was a clever way to showcase a brand lacking in recognition and to leverage synergies between the brands of the Alliance, as Infiniti is Nissan’s luxury brand. The following season, it even became the title sponsor of the team for even greater exposure.
It was a time of strong investments and great ambitions for the brand’s development, particularly in Europe. That era is now over as the brand is no longer marketed in Europe because it never managed to compete with German brands and establish a robust enough network to support its dealership network.
In such a context, it is not surprising that the brand now announces that it will no longer maintain its presence in F1, which had been transferred to Renault when the brand returned in 2016. Officially, the focus is on developing new engines now that the brand has mastered the creation of hybrid units.
For the team that will now be named Alpine, this departure will result in numerous top-tier advertising spaces to commercialize since the brand’s logo was on the engine cover and rear wing, not to mention the drivers’ suits. Undoubtedly, at least one of these spaces will now be occupied by the Dieppe brand since the aim of the name change is precisely to enhance its reputation, which is currently too Franco-French.
