McLaren has announced a new partnership with American biopharmaceutical company AbbVie, launching a charitable initiative that will donate $10,000 for every 10 Constructors’ Championship points scored by the Formula 1 team. However, the agreement also highlights a striking contrast in McLaren’s sponsorship portfolio: while the new partnership promotes medical research and support for patients, the British team continues to maintain a major commercial relationship with British American Tobacco, whose nicotine brand Velo has a prominent presence in Formula 1.
The new agreement makes AbbVie McLaren’s Official Pharmaceutical Partner, with the collaboration beginning at the 2026 United States Grand Prix in Austin. Although the initiative introduces a potentially valuable source of support for people living with immune-mediated diseases, it also raises questions about the consistency of McLaren’s commercial partnerships and the wider relationship between Formula 1 and the nicotine industry.
McLaren and AbbVie launch $10,000 donation campaign at United States GP
McLaren’s agreement with AbbVie centres on a multi-year initiative called AbbVie Race to Innovate, which will link the team’s performance in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship to financial contributions supporting patients around the world.
Under the scheme, AbbVie has committed to donating $10,000 for every 10 Constructors’ Championship points earned by McLaren. The programme begins during the United States Grand Prix weekend and will continue throughout the 2027 Formula 1 season.
The choice of 10 points has a specific symbolic meaning. According to AbbVie, approximately 10% of the world’s population is affected by autoimmune diseases, and the company wanted the donation mechanism to reflect that figure.
The funds raised will be distributed to patient advocacy organisations across the world, supporting groups that provide education, practical resources and assistance to people living with immune-mediated conditions.
Beyond the financial contribution, McLaren and AbbVie intend to use their partnership to promote awareness of the people, research and innovations that contribute to progress in medicine and motorsport.
McLaren welcomes AbbVie as its new pharmaceutical partner
Matt Dennington, Co-Chief Commercial Officer of McLaren Racing, welcomed the agreement and emphasised the similarities between the two organisations’ approaches to innovation.
“We are proud to welcome AbbVie to McLaren Racing at such an exciting time for our team, ahead of the United States Grand Prix,” Matt Dennington said.
“This partnership brings together two organisations that share a commitment to progress, whether that means pushing the boundaries of performance on the track or advancing science that can change lives away from it. We look forward to working with AbbVie to tell compelling stories about what it takes to drive progress and to highlight the people and ideas that make it possible.”
The collaboration is designed to connect Formula 1’s international visibility with AbbVie’s work in developing treatments and supporting people affected by complex medical conditions.
The partnership will also involve storytelling projects and fan engagement activities focusing on the individuals and teams behind scientific discoveries and advances in motorsport engineering.
AbbVie’s immunology research and support for patients
AbbVie has been active in immunology for nearly three decades, developing treatments for a range of immune-mediated diseases.
According to the company, more than one million patients worldwide receive treatment with its immunology medicines, which have been approved in more than 175 countries.
Through the Race to Innovate campaign, AbbVie aims to extend its commitment beyond pharmaceutical development by providing direct financial support to organisations working with patients and their families.
Tracie Haas, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at AbbVie, explained the philosophy behind the agreement.
“AbbVie and McLaren operate in different industries, but both are driven by a mindset of continuous improvement and a shared determination to solve complex challenges,” Tracie Haas said.
“As a leader in immunology for almost three decades, AbbVie continues to promote innovation for patients. Through Race to Innovate, we are proud to bring this commitment to a global stage alongside McLaren, transforming every 10 points scored on the track into support for people living with immune-mediated diseases and the organisations that assist them.”
The campaign therefore represents more than a traditional commercial sponsorship, combining brand visibility with a donation mechanism tied directly to McLaren’s Formula 1 results.
Its broader activities will also seek to highlight the similarities between the research, precision, teamwork and continuous improvement involved in developing new medicines and competing at the highest level of motorsport.
McLaren’s AbbVie deal contrasts with its Velo nicotine sponsorship
Despite the positive objectives of the AbbVie initiative, the partnership also exposes an uncomfortable contradiction in McLaren’s existing sponsorship arrangements.
While the British team is now working with a pharmaceutical company dedicated to medical research and patient support, one of its principal commercial partners remains British American Tobacco, one of the world’s largest tobacco and nicotine companies.
British American Tobacco owns Velo, a nicotine pouch brand that has featured prominently in McLaren’s Formula 1 sponsorship activities.
The relationship between McLaren and British American Tobacco dates back to 2019, when the two organisations first announced a global partnership focused on technology, innovation and the tobacco company’s portfolio of alternative nicotine products.
The agreement was subsequently expanded, with British American Tobacco becoming a principal partner of McLaren. The companies also extended their collaboration through a further multi-year agreement in 2024.
Velo branding and related commercial activities have remained a visible part of that partnership, giving the nicotine brand exposure through one of Formula 1’s most internationally recognised teams.
Formula 1’s nicotine sponsorship debate remains unresolved
The contrast between AbbVie and Velo raises a broader question about the messages communicated through Formula 1 sponsorship.
On one side, McLaren’s new pharmaceutical partnership promotes scientific progress, medical innovation and financial support for people living with chronic health conditions. On the other, its longstanding relationship with British American Tobacco involves the promotion of nicotine products, an industry that continues to attract public health scrutiny.
Nicotine sponsorship in Formula 1 remains controversial, particularly because of concerns surrounding addiction, the visibility of these brands to younger audiences and the sport’s historical associations with tobacco advertising.
British American Tobacco has positioned its McLaren partnership around innovation and the development of alternatives to conventional tobacco products. However, that commercial strategy has not eliminated wider criticism of nicotine marketing through international sporting competitions.
The issue extends beyond McLaren. Formula 1 has faced recurring questions about its relationships with tobacco and nicotine companies, including whether sponsorship arrangements involving alternative nicotine products are consistent with the sport’s broader responsibilities to its audiences.
The AbbVie campaign may deliver meaningful benefits to patients and the organisations supporting them. Its donation commitments and awareness initiatives should be assessed on their own merits, independently of McLaren’s other commercial agreements.
Nevertheless, the coexistence of a health-focused pharmaceutical partnership and a prominent nicotine sponsorship creates a contrast that is difficult to ignore.
For McLaren, the challenge is not simply to demonstrate that Race to Innovate can generate financial support for worthwhile causes, but also to address the questions raised by the different industries represented within its sponsorship portfolio.
As the new campaign begins at the United States Grand Prix, the relationship between medical innovation, commercial sponsorship and public health will remain an important part of the discussion surrounding McLaren’s latest partnership.
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