Invicta Watch Group buys stake in Virtuosi Racing F2 team

The UK-based team and the watch brand joined forces for 2023 with a multi-year title sponsorship deal, renaming the outfit Invicta Virtuosi Racing and establishing a new working relationship between the parties.

But Invicta has now purchased a stake in the team, which will adopt its yellow and black branding from the start of the 2024 season.

The team will field 2023 Formula 3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine Academy driver Kush Maini next season.

McLaren junior Bortoleto will step up to F2 for his rookie season, while Maini moves to the team from Campos Racing.

Invicta has won 18 races in the past five years in the series, with three consecutive runners-up finishes in the teams’ standings from 2019 to 2021 in its previous iteration as UNI-Virtuosi.

It won the inaugural F2 teams’ title in 2017 as Russian Time, with which it began its collaboration in GP2 in 2015.

It finished fifth in 2023, with Alpine Academy driver Jack Doohan third in the standings after winning three races.

Photo by: Uni-Virtuosi Racing

Gabriel Bortoleto, Kush Maini, Virtuosi Racing

The brand plans on releasing a collection of Invicta Racing watches and other lifestyle products as part of the collaboration as it increases its involvement in the series.

Eyal Lalo, CEO of Invicta Watch Group said: “We are thrilled to expand our presence in Formula 2 and in one of the best performing teams on the grid.

“Invicta continues to be one of the fastest growing watch brands in the world, and our association in Formula 2 only supports this.

“Our collectors have certainly shown how much they enjoy our participation in motorsport, so this was a natural step forward.

“This announcement represents a significant increase in Invicta’s involvement in Formula 2, a championship we see as having a tremendous reach with a loyal and engaged fanbase.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Declan, Andy, and Paul for their help and support in putting this together and we look forward to working with them and their amazing team as we continue to embrace a winning culture.”

Invicta Racing CEO Declan Lohan added: “It’s been a pleasure working with Invicta over the past twelve months as an official partner of our team, and our partnership to date has certainly helped elevate our team’s presence both inside and outside of F2.

“This new partnership allows us to increase our competitiveness across all facets of our business, and so we are delighted we could make it happen.”