Motor racing's top-tier Formula 1 (F1) has brought in aerospace innovation brand Archer as a new commercial partner, with the deal set to bring about a new element to the VIP fan treatment at its Grands Prix.
Through a multi-year tie-up, Archer becomes an official supporter of F1, a new sponsorship tier created through this partnership.
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The tie-up will involve both parties looking at ways to introduce an all-electric air-taxi service – featuring vertical take-off and landing features – at select F1 events in the future.
This would be subject to the usual regulatory approvals, and would be used to transport VIP guests, as well as other fans and stakeholders, to and from the races.
Archer, in terms of its other sports sponsorship tie-ups, is set to act as the air taxi provider for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, through a deal made public last May. The organizers of the Olympics and Team USA will integrate Archer's Midnight eVTOL aircraft across the games.
The F1 deal will see Archer have a presence at Grands Prix that align with the "key commercial markets they plan to operate in."
The deal has been struck ahead of the 2026 Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 21 – one of F1's marquee events that attracts a significant number of hospitality guests.
Archer's presence at the 2026 Grands Prix actually kicked off with the United States GP late last month.
Emily Prazer, Formula 1's chief commercial officer, commented: "This collaboration is an exciting opportunity to introduce our sport to new audiences, while working together to explore how new ideas and technologies can continue to evolve and elevate the experience we create for our fans at our events."
Up to this point, F1 had four tiers of sponsorship – global partners, official partners, regional partners, and official suppliers.
Adam Goldstein, founder and chief executive at Archer, added: "We look forward to working with Formula 1 to explore new technologies and how innovation on the ground and in the sky could come together to create a truly unique experience for fans at the track.”
Earlier this week, F1 announced it is still planning to host its two final races of the 2026 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, despite the conflict between Israel (backed by the US) and Iran very much continuing.
There had been initial contingency plans that if one of those races needed to be moved away from the initial host country, Imola in Italy would step in. That is no longer the case, and both the Qatar Grand Prix on November 29 and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 6 are expected to go ahead as scheduled.
When the conflict began, Grands Prix in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were both canceled – the Saudi Grand Prix was removed completely from this season's calendar, while the Bahrain race was instead held in Malaysia in October through a partnership with the Sepang Circuit.
