MSC Cruises will hold title sponsorship rights at three Formula 1 Grands Prix in 2027, putting the cruise company's name on the championship rounds in Portugal, Belgium and Türkiye.
The company announced the package on 21 September 2026. Formula 1's official calendar lists the events as the Formula 1 MSC Cruises Grande Prémio de Portugal 2027, the Formula 1 MSC Cruises Belgian Grand Prix 2027 and the Formula 1 MSC Cruises Turkish Grand Prix 2027.
Portugal is scheduled at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve from 18 to 20 June. Belgium follows at Spa-Francorchamps from 23 to 25 July, while the Turkish round at Istanbul Park is scheduled for 1 to 3 October.
A repeated multi-event sponsorship model
MSC Cruises says 2027 will be the second consecutive season in which it serves as title sponsor of three Formula 1 races. That makes the announcement a continuation of an established commercial format rather than a first entry into the championship.
The title positions sit inside a wider Formula 1 relationship first established in 2022 and extended through 2030. MSC Cruises already uses that global partnership for trackside branding and hospitality, according to its release.
Buying three event names adds locally visible rights at selected rounds to the season-wide association. It gives MSC Cruises repeated use of the same title asset in three European markets without requiring the company to take naming rights across the full calendar.
The announcement does not disclose the value of the rights, whether they were negotiated as one package or through separate promoter agreements, or the precise inventory available at each circuit. It also does not specify hospitality capacity, media commitments, renewal options or market-level performance targets.
Portugal, Belgium and Türkiye serve different calendar roles
The three events are spread across the European portion of the season. Portugal returns to the calendar in June, Belgium occupies its established late-July position, and Türkiye is scheduled for early October.
That distribution gives the sponsor three separate campaign windows rather than a single concentrated activation. It may support different guest, travel-trade and customer programmes around each host market, but MSC Cruises has not yet published activation plans for the individual races.
Formula 1's calendar independently confirms the MSC Cruises naming at all three events and the dates stated in the company announcement. The championship listing is important because the MSC release uses a shortened Turkish race name once in its body copy while identifying the full sponsored title elsewhere.
Explora Journeys remains part of the broader platform
MSC Group's Cruise Division also plans branding for both MSC Cruises and its Explora Journeys luxury brand at selected Grands Prix during 2027. The announcement does not say that Explora Journeys shares the three title rights, so its presence should be treated as part of the wider partnership activation.
For promoters and suppliers, a three-race programme can create repeat work across signage, hospitality, guest transport, content, experiential production and measurement. The actual scope will depend on the rights and activation briefs issued for each venue.
The verified development is the allocation of three 2027 race titles and their confirmed place on Formula 1's calendar. Financial terms and delivery contracts remain undisclosed.