This year alone, there has been a lot of debate between NASCAR and Formula One fans. Well, primarily because Kyle Larson claimed to be better than Max Verstappen. However, this debate can never be settled because the two sports hardly have anything in common. But one thing that they do have in common is sponsors or rather the same sponsors. This is also a rarity since both sports have such different target groups and hence the brands associated with both sports are few.

Like Monster Energy, who’s been in NASCAR for a long time, sponsoring drivers like Tyler Reddick or Riley Herbst and also F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. Or at least they were until recently. Now with Hamilton going to Ferrari next season, the team already has a beverage sponsorship, which will partner with the Brit. And guess what? It’s a brand that’s also been in NASCAR for a long time.

Lewis Hamilton partners with Celsius

Celsius has been in NASCAR for quite some time, but they only recently went to Formula One, partnering with Ferrari in 2023. Sponsoring both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. But with Sainz going to Williams next season as Hamilton steps in his car, multi-billion dollars worth Celsius will now have Hamilton as their ambassador.

But this means that he will have to let go of his longtime partner Monster Energy, who’s been with the 7-time F1 champion since 2017. Not just that the sponsor has been with Lewis Hamilton through all his ups and downs. Even though last year they left Mercedes for McLaren, they chose to keep backing Hamilton for the 2024 season as a personal partnership.

Lossing an athlete as big as Hamilton is certainly a setback for Monster. But two competing energy drinks sponsoring the same guy would make no sense. Recently SBJ’s Adam Stern took to X to share the news. He wrote, “Lewis Hamilton is close to signing a commercial agreement with energy drink brand Celsius as the curtain falls on his long-running association with Monster Energy.” And like Leclerc, Hamilton too would be expected to participate in Celsius’s marketing campaigns and promotional events from next year.

 

Like Hamilton, Celsius has also partnered with many NASCAR drivers. Some include Corey LaJoie at Spire Motorsports and AJ Allmendinger with Kaulig Racing. Latest on their NASCAR roster is ARCA star Toni Breidinger, the brand signed with her earlier this year. And now, Breidinger is set to debut in the Truck Series next year, and Celsius is standing strong with her.

Often drivers are proud of certain sponsorships they have and Celsius is one such that Breidinger wears with pride. Why? Because of their Formula One connection.

Toni Breidinger is proud to have Celsius with her

Celsius claims that it was never their plan to come into NASCAR. But some NASCAR drivers already were fans of the drink like LaJoie, and they themselves approached Celsius for partnerships. On partnering with Celsius, LaJaoie said, “But if I were to go reach for energy drink, it’s always been a Celsius.”

The same was the case with Breidinger, who enjoyed the drink way before partnering with them. She had said while signing them, “CELSIUS has been my go-to source for pre-race energy for years,” and when the opportunity came, she took it with both hands.

Toni Breidinger

Especially since they started sponsoring an F1 team. That elite connection was something she was proud of. “F1 has a lot of hype around it right now, especially with like the Netflix series and everything like that,” Breidinger said. “Those drivers are massive. They have massive followings. I feel like everything they do kind of just looks cool. So yeah, it’s cool to kind of be a part of the partnership that they’re doing as well.”

And while Breidinger knows NASCAR and F1 are miles apart, this little common connection makes her feel good. “It’s kind of hard to compare the two, like NASCAR and F1 and I always say it’s like comparing apples and oranges, but it’s definitely cool to kind of be aligned with them on something.” 

Celsius has a busy year coming up with their NASCAR and Formula One commitments. Are you excited about the next season as well? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.