Credits: Imago |
L: Lando Norris R: Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso once owned a fashion and accessories brand called Kimoa. The clothing company has become a part of Alonso’s brand image as an F1 driver. The Spaniard continues to be the ambassador for Kimoa despite selling it after it suffered losses. However, five years ago when he owned the brand, Alonso often made creative and marketing decisions. One such call was to loop in Lando Norris for an advertisement of Kimoa, which was also an official partner of the McLaren F1 team back in the day.

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As seen in a Twitter (now X) video, this ad featured Alonso and Norris trying out a Kimoa surfboard at the McLaren Technology Center (MTC). The ad starts with Alonso narrating how people suggest him to switch off from racing.

Later on, we see Alonso and Norris at the pond beside the MTC, each trying the Kimoa surfboard. Meanwhile, a McLaren engineer calls the Spaniard to remind him that they have an engineering meeting, so he needs to attend the same immediately. So, Alonso asks Norris to have a race with him and end their surfing time to enter the MTC.

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This advertisement was prior to 2019 when Norris was only a reserve driver for the team. Meanwhile, Alonso was the lead driver in an unstable McLaren team setup that was underperforming massively. Apparently, things did not go great for Alonso’s fashion brand as well.

Kimoa suffered losses of over $3 million in the next few years and eventually, the two-time champion sold the brand to a US-based group – Revolution Brands. The company was running at an under-par revenue that affected its net worth and eventually had a cascading effect on the brand’s worth due to compounding losses.

Fernando Alonso is much more than F1

Fernando Alonso owning a brand like Kimoa shows how he has a lot more going on in his life besides just his F1 career. Even after selling off the brand, the Spaniard is the ambassador of the fashion company. Many Kimoa product categories have Alonso-themed products, be it caps, jackets, sunglasses, and other fashion accessories.

However, besides Kimoa, Alonso has not launched any other brand until now. So, he is quite dedicated to endorsing Kimoa despite not owning a majority stake in the brand anymore. Meanwhile, the brand is no longer a partner of McLaren as well. This is because, after 2018, Alonso retired from F1 and moved away from McLaren.

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While the 42-year-old retired back then, Lando Norris stayed and got a promotion in his place to a race seat at Woking. Since then, Norris has become the primary face of the Papaya team.

On the other hand, even Alonso has evolved a lot since those tumultuous days in 2018. The two-time champion went away to try out Endurance racing in the WEC and even won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time in 2019. The #14 driver was suffering a lot at McLaren as a result of the team’s underperformance.

So, this two-year break away from F1 helped him to refresh and recharge his battery. Eventually, Alonso returned to F1 in 2021 with Alpine and then made a great move to Aston Martin to have a stellar 2023 season with multiple podiums.

Currently, the 42-year-old is thinking about his future while continuing at Aston Martin, as to where he goes for 2025. Alonso can choose to extend his stay at Silverstone or move to another side.