McLaren Racing has poached another big sponsor for the F1 team, as Red Bull’s main rival in the energy drink space, Monster Energy, is joining the English carmaker’s sporting arm. Few details are being revealed in the announcement being made today aside from the deal is for multiple years; that Monster is an official partner of the team with assets to include branding on McLaren helmets, firesuits, hats and drink bottles; and that the sides will work on activations and content. Monster, which is based in California, had been with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, and it has had a long-standing personal services agreement with Lewis Hamilton, who has his own signature drink with Monster that is largely sold in Europe. Monster VP/Sports Marketing Mitch Covington did not immediately respond to a text message about whether Monster’s PSA with Hamilton will continue.
Monster and Red Bull dominate the global energy drink market, though there’s been recent new competitors making waves such as Celsius Fitness Drinks. Both use F1 to market their brands, though Red Bull’s spend is considerably higher as it runs its own team whereas Monster is only a team sponsor. Red Bull’s marketshare globally is 13% as compared to Monster’s 16.4%, according to Euromonitor data recently cited by CNBC.
