Lewis Hamilton’s influence on the world of Formula 1 is unmatched, and a new lucrative sponsorship deal proves it.

Perplexity, an AI-powered answer engine, pushed aside its plans to sponsor a full Formula 1 team, instead settling on an individual partnership with Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton and Perplexity ink major deal

Call it the “Lewis Hamilton effect.” Since he first started racing in Formula 1, the Briton’s magnetic personality has enticed fans and brands to support his career in ways that may have otherwise been unthinkable.

Seven World Championships later, and Hamilton has continued to ascend, marking him out as a star not just in the motorsport scene, but in pop culture as a whole.

Whether he’s offering his expertise as producer of Brad Pitt’s new F1 film, serving as a co-chair of the beloved Met Gala, or representing a world-class brand in a new marketing campaign, ‘Lewis Hamilton’ has become a name familiar to more than just the motorsport subset.

And a new individual partnership with Perplexity proves it.

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Perplexity is a generative AI-powered search engine that synthesizes information in the aim of providing accurate responses to user-asked questions. Valued at around $9 billion, the company has been looking for new ways to promote itself — and the American brand turned to Formula 1.

In a report from SportBusiness, it has been revealed that Perplexity “went through an evaluation process that included conversations with several F1 teams,” including Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin, and Williams.

Lewis Hamilton, however, proved to be a better fit for Perplexity’s aims.

“Whilst we looked at a variety of options across the grid, it was very clear that Lewis Hamilton was the best partner for us,” Perplexity vice president of business Ryan Foutty told SportBusiness.

“We see a great opportunity to grow awareness of Perplexity and its capabilities through Lewis’s reach. The helmet branding exposure is significant and across his channels, he has a vast amount of fans who are really engaged and love following him.”

Per Foutty, Perplexity has global aims. An American company, it’s looking to transcend regional boundaries to become a trusted AI search engine all around the world — and with F1 being a global sport “synonymous with speed and the pursuit of excellence,” Foutty felt it would be a great fit.

“Perplexity is all about giving you fast, accurate answers to your questions and building on that it’s about curiosity – not just answering questions but continuing the curiosity and asking better questions,” he explained.

“F1 is incredibly cerebral, it’s all about technical strategy and its fans very much mirror that, so there’s a great opportunity to introduce Perplexity to F1 fans around the world.”

While Foutty did not elaborate on the specific aims that Perplexity was looking for in a partner that was not met by F1 teams, he did note that the goal is to “transcend” — and that’s something Hamilton does well.

“With all his success he also stands for greatness and excellence and those are brand values that we want people to associate with Perplexity – the faster you learn, the better equipped you are to pursue excellence in whichever domain you’re in for us,” Foutty said.

Per SportBusiness, this partnership will see a Perplexity logo on Hamilton’s helmet, as well as “collaborative content” on social media.

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