These days, Formula 1 teams aren’t just motorsport outfits, they’re luxury brands in their own right… And now one of the sport’s most iconic teams, McLaren, has expanded into the sneaker world with a high-octane collaboration..

The legendary British F1 team has teamed up with Los Angeles-based performance footwear brand Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) on a sneaker called the HySpeeda stylish all-round trainer.

Not only are the shoe’s colorways and rounded angles reminiscent of McLaren’s exotic road cars, but there’s F1 and supercar-inspired tech in the sneakers too. They feature a carbon fiber upper, nitrogen-infused soles and 3-part heel padding inspired by the seats of McLaren’s top-of-the-range Senna hypercar.

Also like a McLaren car they are damn expensive. At AU$747, these are APL’s most expensive sneakers to date… No wonder they call them ‘the pinnacle of luxury performance’.

For comparison, a pair of Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% – the trainers that controversially helped Eliud Kipchoge break the 2-hour marathon barrier in 2019 – will set you back “only” AU$370 (that’s less than half the price of HySpeeds).

This collaboration is the latest in a growing line of collaborations between McLaren and luxury brands. McLaren has long worked with ultra-high-end watchmaker Richard Mille on exclusive models, and last year worked with cult luxury fashion label Rhude on a one-of-a-kind (and equally expensive) clothing capsule collection.

RELATED: McLaren’s latest fashion collab is further evidence of big changes in Formula 1

“Collaborative licensing relationships are absolutely what we try to do, whether it’s sunglasses, sneakers or streetwear… [we want to] stay culturally relevant,” said McLaren Chief Marketing Officer Gareth Dunsmore. Bloomberg.

McLaren aren’t the only F1 team to use fashion to attract new fans. Ferrari also launched its own premium clothing brand last year, for example. Hell, AlphaTauri (Red Bull’s junior team, formerly called Toro Rosso) is a clothing brand.

All of this speaks to a growing reality in modern Formula 1 – a sport defined by the resounding success of Netflix Drive to survive and increasingly popular with young people – competition isn’t just on the track…

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