Leica and Formula 1 have launched the Leica Q3 43 F1 Edition, a $9,950 camera with carbon fiber parts. The camera marks Leica’s first official licensing partnership with the sport. Now it goes on sale from 21 October at Leica Stores and specialist retailers. Here is what buyers get for the money.
The camera is a standard Leica Q3 43 dressed in Formula 1 styling. Carbon fiber also appears on the wireless charging hand grip, the thumb rest and the soft release button. The official Formula 1 announcement says the non-slip Microvelour covering takes its cue from a racing steering wheel. On top of that, a Formula 1 logo sits on the top plate and the lens cap.
Leica also built an exclusive Formula 1 Leica Look for the camera. It adds higher contrast and richer saturation to suit the racetrack and paddock.
Next, owners install it through the Leica FOTOS app. Everything else matches the standard Q3 43, including its 60 megapixel sensor and 43mm f/2 lens. The $9,950 price sits well above the standard Q3 43’s $6,895 launch price.
Leica unveiled the camera at an event at its store and gallery in Los Angeles. Jenson Button and presenter Ariana Bravo joined the launch. Next, Leica will hold events at the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend. Fortune also reports the deal covers Formula 1 as a whole instead of a single team.
Leica and Formula 1 frame the deal around shared values of precision and craftsmanship. Fortune also notes that Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris have both been seen with Leica cameras.
So that gives the partnership a natural link to the paddock. Even so, the Leica Q3 43 F1 Edition looks aimed at collectors and fans rather than working photographers. Its fixed 43mm lens limits what a trackside photographer could shoot.
