AbbVie has formed a multiyear deal with the McLaren Formula 1 team, signing up to raise awareness of immune-mediated diseases and provide funding for global charities.
Illinois-based AbbVie will launch its “Race to Innovate” campaign with McLaren at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas this weekend. The global attention on the U.S. Grand Prix makes the race weekend “a powerful moment” to introduce the partnership, AbbVie said. As an official pharmaceutical partner of the McLaren Formula 1 team, AbbVie will expand the campaign throughout the 2027 season.
Through the campaign, AbbVie will donate $10,000 to global charities for every 10 points that McLaren earns in the Constructors’ Championship. Last season, McLaren won the Constructors’ Championship with 833 points. This season, McLaren is third going into the U.S. Grand Prix with 339 points.
The partnership echoes the alliance that AbbVie struck recently with the PGA Tour and the 2026 Presidents Cup. Through that partnership, AbbVie will donate to patient advocacy organizations for every birdie at PGA Tour Signature Events and the FedEx Cup Playoffs. AbbVie formed the golf deal to raise awareness and advance support for people living with neurological and mental health conditions.
Between the McLaren and PGA deals, AbbVie has secured sponsorships for the two cornerstones of its business—immunology and neuroscience—in quick succession. Immunology, the area covered by the McLaren deal, accounted for more than half of AbbVie’s revenues in the second quarter as the company continued to grow Skyrizi and Rinvoq to mitigate the erosion of Humira sales.
The Formula 1 partnership is the latest in a series of alliances between McLaren and pharmaceutical companies. GSK formed a five-year pact with McLaren in 2011, tapping the automotive manufacturer for expertise in engineering, technology, analytics and strategy modeling. In 2022, Sanofi partnered with McLarenRacing on manufacturing efficiency and performance.
Multiple drugmakers have struck sponsorship agreements with U.S. motorsport teams. Eli Lilly, Novo and Pfizer are among the companies to sponsor IndyCar and NASCAR teams. Vanda Pharmaceuticals joined IndyCar’s list of pharma sponsors in July, when it backed the No. 47 car to raise awareness of its motion sickness pill Nereus.