As they prepare for the 2025 Formula One season, adidas and Mercedes prepare for peak performance with their new partnership
The row of gleaming Mercedes E-Class wagons (German for “taxis”) lined up outside Nuremberg’s modest airport was my first clue: Germany embraces efficiency and quality without fanfare.
Hours later, as I wandered through adidas‘s sprawling Herzogenaurach headquarters—where employees pedal between buildings on campus bikes and enjoy meals at a free cafeteria whenever hunger strikes—that initial impression solidified into understanding. Here was a corporate culture that prioritized calm productivity over manufactured urgency.
This laid-back confidence provides the perfect backdrop for what might otherwise be considered a pressure cooker situation: adidas returning to Formula One after decades away, partnering with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team during its most significant transition in years.
With Lewis Hamilton gone to Ferrari, George Russell has stepped up as lead driver and 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest driver on the grid (and third-youngest in Formula One history). Yet despite the stakes, the partnership announcement exuded one unmistakable quality: no pressure.
“Between Bjørn and I, our conversations about things, our agreement takes 90 seconds,” explained Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, during the panel discussion. “And it’s like, ‘are we doing this?’ ‘Yes, we’re doing it.’ ‘What’s the framework?'”
Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden confirmed this streamlined approach: “This partnership has happened in a very short period of time. We met at a sports event, and we discussed the chances of maybe working together… I’m extremely proud of the speed that we have done.”
This efficient, no-nonsense decision-making process reflects something deeper than mere corporate expediency. It suggests a shared confidence—a mutual recognition that when two industry leaders align, elaborate deliberation becomes unnecessary. The right partnerships simply make sense.
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Walking through the collection displayed at adidas headquarters, including the actual racing helmets the drivers will wear, it’s clear that both companies are approaching this challenge with meticulous attention to detail. The technical demands of Formula One are extraordinary—cockpit temperatures reaching 60°C, pit crews working in sweltering conditions, and the microscopic margins that separate victory from defeat.
“I think at some of the races it goes above 60° Celsius inside the cockpit,” Russell explained during the panel. “And when you’re racing around Singapore with the heat, with the humidity, you are dripping in sweat. So having this high-performance sportswear and something that’s breathable is so vital for us.”
Yet despite these extreme demands, there’s no hint of anxiety from either company about meeting them. Gulden promised innovations “that haven’t been there before,” while Wolff emphasized how the partnership would benefit not just the drivers but all 2,500 team members—particularly the mechanics working in brutal garage conditions.
This focus on solving problems rather than amplifying them exemplifies what separates adidas’s approach from the more typically American sporting brands; where others might trumpet their challenges to heighten drama, adidas and Mercedes simply acknowledge them and move forward with solutions.
Perhaps what makes this partnership so natural is the shared European sensibility that permeates both organizations. Despite Wolff being Austrian and Gulden Norwegian, they connect through a business approach that values substance over spectacle.
This sensibility extends throughout both organizations. Watching Wolff interact with teenage driver Antonelli, I was struck by their easy rapport. Despite the vast difference in age and status, they communicated as peers, with Wolff showing genuine respect for his young driver.
When asked directly about handling pressure, Gulden offered an insight that seemed to define the entire partnership: “The best way of coping with the pressure is actually to enjoy what you’re doing.”
This philosophy—embracing pressure rather than denying it—echoed throughout the event. Russell spoke about finding balance and the privilege of his position: “We are so privileged to drive racecars around the world. I mean, what an awesome job we have.” Even young Antonelli approached his daunting new role with measured calm: “I’m just really focusing day by day… but also try to enjoy.”
I’ve always (admittedly erroneously) perceived adidas as perpetually in Nike’s shadow, but this visit revealed something I’d never considered: perhaps adidas was playing a totally different game. Their measured approach doesn’t need to announce itself because it’s rooted in a certainty that the product will speak for itself.
This distinction feels particularly relevant as they enter Formula One—not as a splashy newcomer but as a returning presence with deep technical credibility. They’re not here to disrupt; they’re here to deliver.
The challenges facing both companies are undeniable. Mercedes must rebuild and redefine its team identity after the Hamilton era while fighting to regain championship form. Adidas must prove it can deliver performance wear that meets Formula One’s extreme demands while satisfying fans eager for stylish merchandise.
Yet the partnership exudes a confidence that stems not from ignoring these challenges but from embracing them with a particular kind of European pragmatism. It’s not that Mercedes and adidas don’t feel pressure; it’s that they’ve mastered transforming pressure from burden to fuel.
As Russell joked during the panel, with the kind of self-awareness that defined the event: “I think if you look good as well, you drive a couple of tenths faster.” To which Gulden dryly responded: “The engine is more important,” prompting laughter all around.
In this exchange lies the essence of this partnership: serious about performance, lighthearted about everything else. In a world of performative intensity and manufactured urgency, there’s something refreshingly authentic about two iconic brands simply getting on with the business of excellence.
No pressure—just performance.
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