McLaren Racing has cut short its team apparel supplier contract with Castore and agreed a multi-year deal with Puma, SportBusiness can reveal.
The original agreement between McLaren and Castore was due to run until the end of the 2027 Formula 1 season, but will now end after this season’s campaign, in which McLaren has won four of the first five grands prix. Castore is instead set to kit out the Haas F1 team from 2026, SportBusiness understands.
The British sportswear brand has partnered with Oracle Red Bull Racing from 2023 and recently added BWT Alpine to its F1 portfolio. An expansion to the Oracle Red Bull Racing contract last year is said to be the most lucrative apparel agreement in F1 history.
However, it was the agreement with McLaren that marked Castore’s entry into the championship back in 2022. As part of the deal, Castore took on McLaren Racing’s licensed merchandise programme.
There was a mutual break clause between McLaren and Castore which would come into effect after the 2026 campaign if enacted in 2025. McLaren did just that earlier this year, and it is understood an agreement was then reached to bring the deal to a close at the end of this year instead.
Castore’s impending exit led to formal talks between McLaren and a number of major sportswear firms about becoming the official teamwear supplier, with Puma coming out on top in the process.
Puma is also thought to have targeted McLaren’s highly-coveted headwear rights, but they are contracted to New Era.
Retail for the McLaren-Puma apparel contract is expected to be run by Stichd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German sportswear giant that specialises in motorsports products.
The McLaren contract will add to Puma’s already strong presence in the F1 paddock. Beginning this season, it is the official sportswear, athleisure and technical gear partner of the Aston Martin Aramco team. Puma branding also features on Aston Martin’s car.
Puma’s F1 team partner footprint also includes a deal with Scuderia Ferrari HP which was upgraded to global level last year. It also has agreements with Williams Racing and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, albeit it is understood that Puma’s association with Williams is likely to conclude when its contract expires at the end of this season, with the Grove-based team currently in the market for a new brand to fill its apparel category.
At the turn of the year, Puma lost the Mercedes-AMG Petronas contract to Adidas, marking the latter’s entry into F1. As exclusively revealed by SportBusiness last year, Adidas’ presence in the series is set to expand next year when it begins a deal with the Audi-owned team currently known as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. The team will officially launch under the Audi banner for the 2026 season.
In May 2023, F1 agreed a multi-year deal making Puma an official provider of the championship.
Meanwhile, Haas’ decision to partner with Castore appears to be part of a concerted move by the US team to heighten its involvement in the retail space. At present, Haas’ official team kit supplier is Tricorp, while Alpinestars is a technical partner that supplies the team with race suits and other technical apparel.
Contacted by SportBusiness, McLaren declined to comment, while Haas has been approached for comment.