American sports drink Gatorade has become the official partner of Formula 1's sprint races in a wide-ranging new deal with Pepsi Co.
F1 announced a five-year official partnership with Pepsi on Monday, which will formally begin in 2026.
Elements of the deal will be apparent from this season, with Gatorade's association with the sprint race set to start at the Belgian Grand Prix in July, the next race to be held under the format.
In 2021 F1 introduced a different format which bumped two practice sessions in favour of a sprint qualifying and sprint race.
Sprints have proven to be popular with fans -- F1 has said viewership goes up 10% verses non-sprint weekends -- and with race promoters alike.
The popularity of the format was shown by F1's decision to increase the number to six last season and series boss Stefano Domenicali said the Gatorade deal shows how strong it has become as its own entity.
"We thought it was the right association -- the sprint has been one of the activities for new fans that have been popular, giving them every day something on track that has some relevance to the result," Domenicali told ESPN about the Gatorade link with the sprint.
"We have shown to the avid fans that we do respect and keep at the centre the [on-track] product, always. If you look at the championship, the action on track has never been so tight. Our objective has never been to dilute or destroy the value of the real life sport, as nothing has ever taken away from that.
"I think this makes the sprint even more relevant for fans, on the sport side, because we get another boost for it on the commercial side, but the focus has never stopped being on the racing side itself."
Gatorade is one of the brands most associated with sports in America, having originally been made for the University of Florida's student athletes, Gators, while also being the official sports drink of the NFL, MLB and NBA.
The Gatorade shower has become an iconic part of championship-winning moments in the NFL.
As the deal starts this year, the Gatorade link will feature during Austin's U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, one of two U.S. races to hold the sprint.
May's Miami Grand Prix also featured the revised event.
The wider Pepsi deal has multiple extra elements to it, with Sting joining as the sport's official energy drink and Doritos joining as official savoury snack partner -- both from 2026 onwards.
The partnership is another example of Formula 1's growing worldwide popularity and its commercial appeal to some of the world's biggest brands.
The sport's agreement with Lego made headlines at the Miami Grand Prix when the drivers did a parade lap in cars made entirely of Lego.
That activation has added another level of appeal in bringing new partners to the table.
"We are thrilled to sign this partnership with F1," Eugene Willemsen, CEO of International Beverages for PepsiCo, told ESPN. "The possibilities with this sport at the moment are endless, as we saw in Miami. It has a fan base of 1.3 billion worldwide, very young, across the world. So it's a great partner for us to partner with.
"The lead brand will be Sting, the fastest growing brand in our portfolio, and we are thrilled to combine that with the fastest growing sporting event in the world at this time. F1, the whole weekend, has become a true entertainment weekend for all the fans who visit the circuit. It's a combination of sport, entertainment, they communicate indirectly with the drivers.
"There's many ways for us to leverage all of those opportunities and entertainment of F1 to create a unique blend for fans. I think we can come up with things that surprise fans on the ground when they are at events."