BP结束F1“流亡”：为何选择与奥迪合作
英国石油公司BP在阔别F1数十年后，将于2026年携润滑油品牌嘉实多重返赛场，与奥迪车队合作。BP高层表示，与一支从零开始进入F1的车队共同成长，是这次合作最具吸引力的地方。
一级方程式的赞助商如何衡量成功？对于嘉实多母公司英国石油而言——它在长达数十年的缺席后，于2026年携奥迪重返赛场——胜利已经与其润滑油品牌嘉实多一同不断累积。
嘉实多拥有强大的全球赛车运动底蕴——包括近期与阿尔派和迈凯伦合作的一级方程式经验，以及与奥迪合作在世界耐力锦标赛和世界拉力锦标赛上取得的传奇性成功。
"对我们来说，有机会参与一支从零开始进入一级方程式的车队，并共同将其发展壮大，正是这项合作如此具有吸引力的原因，"BP营销与转型高级副总裁妮可拉·巴克解释道。
"这是一个让我们展示技术实力、创新能力以及合作伙伴实力的机会。"
奥迪联盟的深度远远超出了传统的赞助。英国石油公司提供燃油，而嘉实多提供润滑油，这使其成为奥迪2026年厂队参赛项目的基石。
“从技术角度来看，这是一次真正的联合工程之旅，”巴克说，“这不仅仅是贴在车上的一张贴纸。这是一个共同研发动力总成的机会，旨在提供非常独特的产品，希望能为车队带来在赛道上取胜所需的额外动力。”
据巴克所说，奥迪在赛道上的表现——首秀即得分，随后在银石、斯帕和匈牙利又三次跻身前十——已经产生了切实的影响。
“能与我们合作的车队——一支在首个赛季就表现如此出色的车队——建立真正的技术合作伙伴关系，这对品牌的光环效应带来了奇妙的作用，”她指出。
赛道上的出色成绩能直接转化为消费者的信任。巴克解释说，奥迪的竞争力让英国石油和嘉实多能够更好地向大众传达“我们的燃油和润滑油有多么出色，并推销那些我们引以为豪的产品”。
至关重要的是，这次合作还深化了与整个大众集团的商业联系，为向大众旗下的其他制造商供应产品打开了大门。
巴克表示，数据可以证明这一点。2026年3月关于英国石油与奥迪合作的首批报道反响极为积极，这得益于英国石油成为最早为一级方程式新规则时代完成燃油认证的供应商之一。
“我们开展追踪项目，来评估‘这次合作是否帮助我们在世界各地的目标受众中建立与我们品牌的这种关联？’”她说。
英国石油（BP）和嘉实多（Castrol）也会衡量内部反响。
巴克（Buck）说：“我们做这类事情的另一个原因，是为了增强我们组织内部对合作伙伴关系、技术以及我们所拥有的出色产品的自豪感。这一点我们可以很快地进行追踪。”
此外，赛道边的实体展示让两个品牌能够直接与利益相关方互动，无论是通过英国石油（BP）的赛道燃油实验室，还是通过与奥迪（奥迪）F1 车手尼科·霍肯伯格、加布里埃尔·博托莱托，以及 F1 学院（F1 Academy）车手艾玛·费尔伯迈尔（Emma Felbermayr）共同开展的现场活动。
从工程角度来看，英国石油（BP）的赛车运动技术负责人吕克·乔利（Luc Jolly）强调了英国石油（BP）各工程团队之间至关重要且富有价值的信息共享。
乔利解释道：“我们正在借助英国石油（BP）更广泛的技术大脑，获取那些在我的核心团队内部难以完全具备的技能和专业特长。”
“这些共享的经验教训是实实在在的。我们可能还没有谈论所有内容，但在未来几年里，这将成为这段旅程的一部分。”
今年全面的发动机规则修改创造了一个难得的机会。它们为奥迪作为一个全新的动力单元供应商进入提供了一个完美的空白起点，还配备了从零开始打造的专属燃油和润滑剂合作伙伴。
嘉实多与奥迪历史上的成功合作——这一伙伴关系在世界耐力锦标赛（WEC）、德国房车大师赛（DTM）、达喀尔拉力赛和电动方程式（Formula E）等多个赛事中都孕育了胜利——为这笔合作奠定了坚实的基础。
巴克说：“当我们能够与客户交流时，这种一体化关系所带来的可信度——可以谈论历史、传统，以及为什么这是它的下一代——是非常有说服力的。”
乔利对此表示赞同，并指出他们从统治级的LMP1时代延续下来的“组织层面的经验”。
“我们两家组织此前曾与奥迪合作过，我们知道如何彼此配合、互相激发出最好的一面。一些车队成员甚至就是原来那批人。所以，自然会有一种并非从零开始的感觉。”
然而，如果没有自由媒体集团从2017年开始对一级方程式（F1）进行的戏剧性变革，这段合作关系可能根本不会形成。当被问及如果没有F1近年的商业繁荣，英国石油（BP）是否还会重返发车区时，巴克回答道：“我想简单的答案就是不会，对吧？”
“回顾四五年前，F1的观众数量在不断下滑。这项运动当时并不具备如今这样的增长势头。我们甚至曾经质疑是否应该长期参与这项运动。
“现在，从商业角度来看，这意味着观众群体已经发生了巨大变化。这里有一种近乎白纸重绘（blank slate）的元素。
“在这一代17岁、18岁的新车迷中，有很多人对与勒芒（Le Mans）合作的那段历史毫无记忆。对他们来说，这是一项面向未来的、非常现代化的运动呈现方式，我认为我们在传承历史底蕴的同时，完全可以为此感到自豪。”
BP和嘉实多与奥迪合作的真实回报还需要时间来验证——但抓住2026年规则重置、奥迪的F1首秀以及不断增长的F1车迷群体所带来的机遇，已经开始产生红利。
英文原文
How does a Formula 1 sponsor measure success? For BP, which returned to the grid with Audi in 2026 after a decades-long absence, the victories are already stacking up alongside its lubricants brand, Castrol.
Castrol boasts a formidable global motorsport pedigree - including recent F1 experience with Alpine and McLaren, plus legendary World Endurance Championship and World Rally Championship successes with Audi.
"An opportunity for us to be involved in a team that is entering F1 from the start and build that out together is what made this partnership so attractive," explains SVP Marketing and Transformation for BP, Nicola Buck.
"It's an opportunity for us to showcase our technology credentials, our innovation credentials, and our partnership credentials."
The depth of the Audi alliance goes far beyond traditional sponsorship. BP supplies the fuel, while Castrol provides the lubricants, making this a foundational pillar of Audi's 2026 works entry.
"From a technology perspective, it's a true co-engineering journey," Buck says. "This is not just a sticker on a car. It's the opportunity to develop the powertrain together to make a very unique offering that hopefully gives the team the extra power needed to win on the track."
According to Buck, Audi's on-track performance - securing points on debut, followed by three more top-10 finishes across Silverstone, Spa, and Hungary - has already made a tangible impact.
"For us to be in a true technology partnership with a team that's performing so well in its first season, it does wonders for the halo impact on the brand," she notes.
Strong track results translate directly into consumer trust. Buck explains that Audi's competitiveness allows BP and Castrol to better communicate "how brilliant our fuels and lubes are to the general public, and upsell the products that we're so proud of".
Crucially, the partnership also deepens commercial ties with the wider Volkswagen Group, opening doors to supply products across other VW-owned manufacturers.
Buck says the data backs it up. Initial coverage of the BP-Audi partnership in March 2026 was overwhelmingly positive, buoyed by BP being among the first suppliers to homologate its fuel for F1's new regulatory era.
"We run tracking programmes to say, 'Is that partnership helping us build that association with our brand amongst our target audiences around the world?'" she says.
BP and Castrol also measure internal optics.
"Another reason we do this kind of thing is to build pride in our organisation for the partnerships, the technology, and the amazing products we've got. And that we can track very quickly," Buck says.
Furthermore, a physical trackside presence allows both brands to engage stakeholders directly, whether through BP's trackside fuel lab or via activations with Audi F1 drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, alongside F1 Academy driver Emma Felbermayr.
From an engineering standpoint, BP's motorsport technology lead, Luc Jolly, highlights the crucial and useful sharing of information between BP's engineering teams.
"We're tapping into the wider BP technology brain for skills and specialisms that would be difficult to have completely within my core team," Jolly explains.
"The shared learnings are real. We might not be talking about all of them yet, but that's going to be part of this journey over the coming years."
This year's sweeping engine regulation changes created a rare opening. They provided the perfect blank slate for Audi to enter as a new powertrain supplier, complete with dedicated, ground-up fuel and lubricant partners.
Castrol's historical success with Audi - a partnership that has bred victories across numerous disciplines such as the WEC, DTM, Dakar Rally, and Formula E - laid a solid foundation for the deal.
"When we're able to talk to customers, the credibility of having that joined-up relationship - to talk about the history, the heritage, and why this is the next generation of it - is really powerful," Buck says.
Jolly agrees, noting the "organisational learnings" that carried over from their dominant LMP1 days.
"Having worked with Audi previously, as two organisations, we know how to work together and get the best out of each other. Some of the team members are actually the same. So, there's a natural sense of not starting from scratch."
However, the partnership might never have materialised without Liberty Media's dramatic transformation of F1 that began in 2017. When asked if BP would have returned to the grid without F1's recent commercial boom, Buck replied: "I think the simple answer is no, right?
"You go back four or five years, F1 numbers were declining. It wasn't a sport that had the growth that it has today. It was a sport that we were questioning our involvement in for the long term.
"Now, what that translates to from a business perspective is that the audience has dramatically shifted. There is an element of a blank slate.
"There are many in this new generation of 17- and 18-year-old fans who have no memory of the Le Mans partnership. For them, it's a very modern take on a sport for the future that I think we can be really proud of, as well as building off that heritage."
It will take time to find out the real returns of BP and Castrol's partnership with Audi - but the capitalisation on the 2026 rules reset, Audi's F1 debut, and a growing F1 fanbase, is already paying dividends.
The Race ·
内容来自公开信源，聚合内容版权归原作者与来源所有。