Red Bull Racing has announced another a big buck F1 sponsorship deal, with the Milton Keynes-based outfit signing up cryptocurrency exchange platform Bybit as its principal team partner.
Last week, Red Bull signed US tech giant Oracle as its new title partner, a deal allegedly worth a hefty $100 million a year.
But the team touts its three-year partnership with Bybit, estimated at $50 million a year, as "the single largest per-annum cryptocurrency venture yet seen in international sport".
Red Bull says its 'principal team partner' title was specially created for Bybit given the magnitude of the Singapore-based company's commercial investment in F1.
"I’m delighted to welcome Bybit to the Team," said RBR team boss Christian Horner.
"It’s fitting too that, as we enter a new generation of competition of F1 in 2022, with an advanced and potentially game-changing new philosophy of cars taking to the track, that Bybit also exist at the cutting edge of technology.
©RedBull
"They share the Team’s passion to exist at the forefront of technological innovation, to set the competitive pace and to disrupt the status quo.
"Allied to that is Bybit’s commitment to enlivening the fan experience in F1 through digital innovation.
"This is also a key mission for the Team and Bybit’s assistance will help us build a deeper more immersive and unique connection with the team for fans around the world."
Established in March 2018, Bybit has grown exponentially over the past four years and now boasts more than six million registered users worldwide.
In addition to becoming RBR's principal team partner, Bybit will also act as the team's tech incubator and fan token issuance partner.
Bybit's branding will appear on the front and rear wings of Red Bull's RB18.
Red Bull's latest deals with Oracle and Bybit, while they likely include a significant non-cash services component, will certainly help the team fulfill its funding needs, and then some, for 2022 based on F1's $140 million budget cap for this season.
The deals also further validate the value of Formula 1's platform for multinationals and brands seeking an association and exposure in line with their business interests.
"Oracle Red Bull Racing’s unique energy and creativity inspires us," said Bybit co-founder and chief executive Ben Zhou.
"The team has changed the game in the same way that digital assets have changed the global financial system.”
"As a young platform we connect with Oracle Red Bull Racing at the core of our values — age doesn’t matter, hierarchy is of no significance, and legacy is not what is passed to you but what you make.
"Bull or bear, everyone has the opportunity to take financial freedom in their own hands at the dawn of the digital economy.
"Bybit has found our kindred spirit and the perfect harmony of speed, safety and reliability is everything our users are looking for on our platform.
"A moment on the track is made possible by tireless work to perfect the chassis, the engine, the craftsmanship, and by the racing drivers’ relentless pursuit for precision and focus in an adrenaline-fueled game."
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