Leica’s U.S. boss says F1 ‘goes at incredible speed’ and photography helps ‘stop the moment.’ Now they’ve made $10,000 camera together

Some of Formula 1’s most populat drivers are already serious about photography. Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris have both been seen with Leica cameras, and Norris runs a separate Instagram account for his photos.

That overlap goes well past the drivers, or even the intricate pieces that goes into both cars and cameras, says Mike Giannattasio, president of Leica Camera North America.

“There is such synergy between people who collect cameras and people who collect cars,” he told Fortune. “If you see people who are passionate about vintage cars or racing cars, and if they have anything other than a passenger in the seat next to them, eight out of 10 times it’s going to be a Leica camera.”

To Giannattasio, that made a partnership an easy call. On Tuesday, the German camera maker and Formula 1 announced a global licensing deal, Leica’s first official tie-up with the sport. It covers F1 as a whole rather than a single team and includes a special-edition camera, a gallery show in Los Angeles, and events at the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend.

‘The decisive moment’

Not everyone saw the workings of a partnership right away. When Giannattasio described the deal to someone he was meeting with, the reply was, “Mike: F1 and Leica? That’s a stretch.”

He disagreed, and his case comes down to how both are made. Car and camera manufacturing both involve intricately crafted pieces put together into something the owner will spend countless hours learning. Each time a shutter fires, and each time a tire........

© Fortune