(Yicai) Oct. 9 -- French luxury conglomerate LVMH Group has become the largest sponsor of the Singapore Grand Prix F1 night race, which recently drew more than 300,000 motorsport fans from around the world to the island nation.

LVMH signed a 10-year partnership with Formula 1 last year, marking a major expansion of its global sports marketing footprint. Though the financial details were not disclosed, market speculation values the deal at as much as USD1 billion. The Paris-headquartered group did not confirm the figure to Yicai.

At this year’s race, LVMH’s watch brand TAG Heuer replaced Rolex as the official timekeeper, while its champagne label Moët & Chandon drew attention outside the circuit with a passenger hot air balloon and a pop-up bar.

As a sponsor, LVMH’s deepening ties with F1 signal a decade of close collaboration between the two sides, said Chris Chong, LVMH’s president for South and Southeast Asia, during the event.

Before signing the long-term agreement, LVMH conducted a study on F1’s global audience demographics, finding a clear shift toward younger and more gender-diverse viewers, particularly in Asia, Yicai learned. In Singapore, the average fan age is around 40, and women account for nearly half of the spectators.

Many young fans from across Asia, including China, were seen at the Singapore Grand Prix. Some credited the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive for sparking their interest in the sport.

“I only learned about F1 from watching this documentary and wanted to see what happens behind the scenes. Coming here during China’s Golden Week holiday and hearing the roar of the cars in person was truly thrilling,” a 35-year-old female fan from China's mainland told Yicai.

Editor: Emmi Laine