Aston Martin Enters Padel Market with Padeltek Collaboration
Padel is winning the Formula 1 paddock. Now Aston Martin want to own a piece of the court.
What started as a post-session hobby for drivers like Fernando Alonso, George Russell, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc has edged into something more serious – and more commercial. The latest step: Aston Martin turning their fascination with the sport into a fully fledged product line.
Aston Martin step onto the court
Ahead of the 2026 United States Grand Prix, Aston Martin announced a new collaboration with racket sports brand Padeltek, becoming the first F1 team to formally partner with a company dedicated to padel and pickleball.
This isn’t just a logo slapped on a frame. The initial collection includes three padel rackets and matching cover bags, with pickleball gear to follow in 2027. To launch it, the team staged an event in Austin, rolling out Jenson Button, Jessica Hawkins, Jak Crawford and Pedro de la Rosa for a showcase on court – a clear signal that this is meant to live, not just sit in a merchandise catalogue.
For Matt Chapman, Aston Martin’s Head of Licensing and Merchandise, the boom in padel inside the paddock was too strong to ignore.
“Padel was a particularly interesting opportunity given its incredible growth and the natural connection it has developed with the Formula 1 paddock,” he told F1.com, pointing to the sport’s global, diverse community as a way for the team to “connect with new audiences and explore a different side of our brand.”
The key, Chapman stressed, was credibility. Aston Martin wanted something that felt engineered, not just endorsed.
“Authenticity was really important to us from the outset,” he said. “We wanted to create something that went beyond simply putting our name on a product, ensuring the collection genuinely reflected both our identity and the demands of the sport.
“Working with Padeltek allowed us to bring together their expertise in padel equipment, with our own design. We wanted the collection to feel unmistakably Aston Martin, while ensuring the products were designed to perform on court. Striking that balance between design, functionality and performance was key.”
Rob Bloom, the team’s Chief Marketing Officer, sees a deeper link than shared branding. In his eyes, the mentality that drives a qualifying lap also fuels a tight rally in a glass box.
“There's a natural crossover between the two sports, particularly when you consider the competitive mindset and the importance of quick thinking, precision and reaction times,” Bloom told F1.com.
“Padel has become a sport that has brought people together, whether that's drivers, team members or fans, and it's become a great way for the paddock to connect away from the intensity of a race weekend.”
Why padel fits F1 so neatly
Padel sits somewhere between tennis and squash. It’s played in doubles, on a smaller enclosed court hemmed in by glass and mesh fencing. The scoring mirrors tennis. The serve is underarm. The rackets are solid, the ball stays live off the walls, and the rallies move fast.
It is hectic, reactive, and unforgiving of slow thinking – exactly the kind of environment in which elite racing drivers thrive.
Mike Dale, Editor of The Padel Paper, has watched the sport’s rise among current and former athletes.
“Padel has indeed become really popular with current and ex-sportsmen and women,” he told F1.com. “The sport is obviously very trendy and quite a lot of the emerging clubs are quite high-end, so the environment is attractive to people from the equally glamorous F1 world.
“But the biggest reason is that padel is very easy to become quite good at quite quickly, particularly if you've got a baseline of athleticism, sporting ability and hand-eye coordination. And that feeling of being 'good' quite quickly is very addictive!”
That mix – high-end surroundings, quick improvement, and a clear competitive edge – explains why so many drivers are hooked. Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are among the regulars. Before the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, Norris and Gabriel Bortoleto were spotted squeezing in a game, while Alex Albon revealed that the drivers even have a group chat to arrange late-night matches during race weekends.
The setting is relaxed. The intensity is not.
Fernando Alonso, who has been playing for more than a decade, lit up when asked about his partnership with George Russell during the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. The pair, he said, were unbeaten.
“I was [impressed by Russell]. I've been playing padel for, 12 or 15 years,” Alonso said. “But I think George is quite new to it and he was strong. And we are unbeatable at the moment! We play once and it's 100% dominant wins!”
Russell, for his part, has leaned into the sport as the season wears on and the travel grinds.
“Team mates on the padel court, 100% record against our competitors,” he said. “It's always nice to do that as a sport, I've been getting into it a little bit as this year has progressed, and especially this time of the season, you spend a lot of time away, so it's nice to have a hobby on the side.”
Oscar Piastri summed up the mood among the younger drivers.
“We take it far too seriously, yes,” he admitted. “But it's very good fun and a good way of, you know, just keeping yourself awake.”
Gasly goes from player to owner
Most drivers are content to book a court and play. Pierre Gasly went further.
The Alpine driver has bought into 10Padel, a team competing in the Hexagon Cup – an international padel competition that has quickly drawn a roster of heavyweight investors.
“Padel is something I really enjoy in my daily life, and I believe it's a sport with incredible business potential,” Gasly told Reuters in February 2026. “I'm happy to be a part of its growth through my team.”
For Gasly, this isn’t a vanity project. It’s part of a broader push to use the platform of F1 to explore life outside the cockpit.
“Formula 1 opens many opportunities. While I wake up thinking about F1 and fall asleep thinking about it, there's more to life. I want to discover other things and mix them with my passions,” he said.
That mindset is increasingly common in a generation of drivers who see themselves as brands, entrepreneurs and investors, not just racers. Padel offers them both a playground and a portfolio.
Can F1 push padel into the mainstream?
The relationship between the two sports is tightening. Drivers are evangelising it on social media and in press conferences. Aston Martin are selling rackets designed to be “unmistakably” theirs. Investors are circling.
For Bloom, that convergence is no accident. It’s strategy.
“Formula 1 has an incredibly diverse fanbase, and for Aston Martin, it's about finding authentic ways to meet fans on their terms – that means in their communities beyond motorsport. Padel is a great example of that,” he said.
“Collaborations like this allow fans to engage with the team through something they enjoy themselves, creating a connection that extends beyond the racetrack. Ultimately, we want to be part of the conversations and communities that matter to our fans, wherever their interests lie.”
Dale sees the same trend from the padel side of the net.
“These F1 and padel partnerships help raise padel's profile even more,” he said. “There's a massive investor buzz around padel, with new clubs, tech, equipment and apparel being launched on a daily basis.”
The paddock has already embraced the sport. The question now is whether the sight of an Aston Martin racket in the local club, or a late-night driver showdown on a glass court, can turn padel from a fashionable side-hustle into the next global racket phenomenon.
