Duracell
Williams F1 Sponsor
What Does Duracell Pay Williams?
GlobalData put Duracell’s Williams deal at $6m a year in its 2023 research on the business of F1, as reported by PlanetF1. Nothing newer has come out, even after the November 2024 renewal, so that’s still the figure used here.
It’s a mid-sized deal at Williams, a touch above Kraken and Gulf at $5m each but behind Komatsu‘s $8m. Atlassian’s title deal is worth five times as much.
September 2023 feature citing GlobalData's figure of $6m a year for Duracell's Williams deal.
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Insider · Issue 23
01 · The Last Race
Singapore by Salary
Pos
Driver
Pts
Salary
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
25
$70m
2
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
18
$34m
3
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
15
$3.4m
4
Lando Norris
McLaren
12
$30m
5
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
10
$13m
6
Insider+
7
Insider+
Our Take · Insider+
What Each Point Now Costs Red Bull
Global Partner
How the Duracell Williams Partnership Works
Duracell makes alkaline batteries such as Coppertop and Optimum, along with rechargeables and lithium cells, and Berkshire Hathaway has owned it since 2016. Berkshire doesn’t break out Duracell’s sales, so there’s no current revenue figure for the brand.
At Williams it’s a global partner. The best-known piece of the deal is the airbox above the driver’s head, painted as a copper and black Duracell battery, and the colors also run across the drivers’ helmet visors. Williams gets batteries for team equipment too, and the multiyear renewal has no published end date.
November 19, 2024 renewal covering the airbox, helmet visors, the Las Vegas DRS flaps and the move from North American to global.
Covers Duracell's product range and Berkshire Hathaway's 2016 takeover for about $4.7bn of Procter and Gamble shares.
What Does Duracell Get From Williams?
A battery maker wants people to picture the product, and the airbox does it before anyone reads a logo. Williams has pushed the idea further. At the Las Vegas Grand Prix the DRS flaps were made to look like a Duracell battery, and the DRS button turned copper.
The link to hybrid racing is mostly marketing, though, since the energy store in the car’s hybrid system is part of the Mercedes power unit. Everyday use is the real message, and Duracell runs it at Inter Miami too, where it talks up batteries in players’ GPS vests and around the stadium.
The 2024 Monaco engine cover Bunny that launched Optimum, with a TV ad running in 15 countries.
Duracell's July 2022 release naming it title partner of the Williams Esports eNASCAR team.
Inter Miami renewal describing Duracell batteries in GPS vests and around the stadium.
Duracell F1 Sponsorship History
Duracell joined Williams as one of the first global brands of the team’s rebuild, and it has used the car for one-off stunts as well as its permanent airbox branding.
Duracell and Williams F1 Questions
Duracell had the airbox above the driver’s head painted as its copper and black battery as part of the Williams deal. It turns the car into an ad for the product itself, and the idea has spread to helmet visors and, at Las Vegas, DRS flaps made to look like a battery.
No, Duracell doesn’t make the battery that powers the Williams car’s hybrid system. That energy store is part of the Mercedes power unit Williams buys in, and Duracell’s role is a sponsorship with airbox and helmet branding, plus batteries for everyday team equipment.
Duracell pays Williams about $6m a year, based on GlobalData’s 2023 figure as reported by PlanetF1. No newer number has come out, even after the November 2024 renewal, so that benchmark stands for 2026. It puts Duracell behind Komatsu and ahead of Kraken and Gulf at Williams.
Duracell renewed with Williams on November 19, 2024, in a multiyear extension covering 2025 and beyond. It carried on a partnership that began ahead of the 2022 season, and while no end date was given, Duracell is still on the team’s partner list in 2026.
Berkshire Hathaway owns Duracell and took it over from Procter & Gamble on February 29, 2016, in exchange for P&G shares worth about $4.7bn. Berkshire doesn’t report Duracell’s sales separately, so the battery maker has no public revenue figure of its own.