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Rakuten will become a Team Partner of Scuderia Ferrari HP in telecommunications and e-commerce from January 1, 2027.
Rakuten branding will appear on Ferrari’s Formula 1 cars, driver apparel, and around the team environment, while the Japanese company plans to promote both its e-commerce business and Rakuten Symphony, which sells network technology to telecom operators and enterprise customers.
That gives Ferrari one buyer for two categories. It also gives Rakuten a program with two audiences: Ferrari fans for its marketplace and corporate buyers for Symphony.
Rakuten Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani described Formula 1 as a global stage for the company’s technology, digital services, and membership offers. His sports marketing record supports the scale of that ambition. Rakuten paid FC Barcelona roughly USD $59 million (€55 million) per season during the original four-year term of its front-of-shirt agreement, a different and more prominent asset that cannot be compared to the Ferrari deal but does show Mikitani’s willingness to pay for global distribution.
Rakuten is the first Japanese company to hold Ferrari’s Team Partner rights in these two categories.
Business of Speed has covered how F1 partnerships now work as sales platforms, with the car supplying attention and the activation doing the commercial work. Rakuten’s first test will come in 2027 through Ferrari merchandise, member offers, and Symphony programs for telecom buyers.
Business of Speed covers the business, technology, and lifestyle of racing: Formula 1, IndyCar, IMSA, WEC, NASCAR, and more. From Vincenzo Landino, entrepreneur and creator, featured in Bloomberg, TBPN, Yahoo! Finance, Forbes, Adweek, and Front Office Sports. You can find us on Instagram, Substack, and LinkedIn.
