McLaren will head into 2026 wearing Puma.
The Woking team has confirmed a “multi-year global partnership” with the sportswear giant that will see Puma supply official kit not only for its Formula 1 outfit, but also its IndyCar, F1 Academy and sim racing programmes. McLaren’s World Endurance Championship operation will also fall under the same umbrella when it joins the hypercar category in 2027.
It’s a move that has been coming for a while. McLaren had been tied to Castore since the start of 2022 on a five-year agreement reportedly worth around £30m per season, a deal that was originally expected to run through the end of 2026. Last year, however, it emerged McLaren was working to end that partnership a season early, clearing the way for Puma to step in from the start of the new regulations era.
There’s a wider story here than a logo swap on a polo shirt. F1’s commercial momentum has made teamwear a serious battleground: the paddock has become a travelling retail showroom, with every driver arrival, garage shot and fan zone appearance effectively doubling as a marketing campaign. In that environment, apparel partners aren’t just suppliers — they’re part of how teams package themselves to the sport’s swelling audience.
Zak Brown framed it exactly that way, pointing to the influx of fashion and lifestyle brands and the appetite for “deep and meaningful” fan engagement. “I cannot think of a better partner than sportswear giant Puma to help us supercharge our portfolio of fan wear,” Brown said, adding that fans want to show their affiliation “both at and away from track”, with Puma bringing an “innovative approach to design and culture”.
From Puma’s side, chief executive Arthur Höeld leaned on the company’s motorsport heritage and positioned McLaren as the next flagship chapter. He described it as an “honour” to welcome McLaren Racing — billed as the 2025 Constructors’ and Drivers’ Champions — and said the brand is looking forward to “engaging with the team’s passionate fans around the world to create inspiring collections”.
The timing is neat, too. McLaren’s announcement lands on the eve of the 2026 season, when fresh technical rules reset the competitive picture and teams jostle to define their identities in a new era. On that front, apparel might seem trivial compared to aero concepts and power unit integration — but perception matters, and McLaren has been one of the sharpest operators in the modern paddock when it comes to presentation and commercial reach.
The knock-on effects have already been felt elsewhere. Castore, having lost McLaren, has moved quickly and has been confirmed as a new partner for Haas. That keeps the Manchester-based brand visible on the 2026 grid, alongside its existing relationships with Red Bull Racing and Alpine.
Puma, meanwhile, continues to curate a more selective F1 line-up. McLaren joining means Aston Martin and Ferrari remain in the stable too, after a period of churn that has seen Mercedes and Audi move to Adidas and Williams switch to New Era over the past 12 months.
If you’re McLaren, the appeal is obvious: Puma is a global heavyweight with established motorsport credibility and the kind of distribution that can turn a successful season into a worldwide retail moment. If you’re Puma, McLaren is a premium property with broad appeal, a strong driver pairing in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and a brand that already speaks the language of modern fandom.
Either way, expect to see a lot more papaya in Puma’s catalogues — and a lot more Puma in McLaren’s paddock footprint — as Formula 1 rolls into 2026.
