Mercedes retains FTX logos on W13 amid sponsor's collapse

The Mercedes F1 team has retained the presence on its cars in Brazil of sponsor FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that was dealt a near fatal blow this past week.

But the Brackley squad said on Thursday that it was closley monitoring its commercial partner's situation.

FTX's sudden liquidity concerns led to a massive outflow of investors' funds, an event that sent shockwaves through the crypto world late on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, crypto industry leader Binance, which had struck a deal to acquire and bail out FTX, backed out of its plan after disclosing that a review of FTX’s books had unearthed "mishandled customer funds".

Furthermore, reports have emerged that FTX's massive liquidity event has sparked the interest of U.S. financial regulators which are allegedly now circling the smaller exchange.

• Read also: Mercedes aiming to uphold its 'momentum' in Brazil

Mercedes signed its sponsorship deal with FTX in September, 2021 as part of the crypto exchange's high profile marketing programme that also included a $135 million naming rights deal with the Miami Heats’ NBA arena in Miami.

In the past 15 months, Formula 1 has seen almost every team sign a sponsorship deal with a crypto, blockchain or digital token partner.

But FTX's near collapse and the latter's potential ramifications for the industry could spell the end of the crypto bonanza for the sport.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding FTX's future, which now hinges on the unlikely prospect of a saviour stepping in, Mercedes has retained the exchanges branding on its cars for this weekend's penultimate round of the F1 world championship in Brazil.

Asked if F1 teams had perhaps taken on too much risk by embracing crypto partners, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "You can't shut yourself down to modern technology, it's definitely an area that will grow."

"When we are looking back in 10 years' time, having to make payments that take two days and can't be done outside of week hours, it is something that's going to be a relic of the past," he added.

"And this is where cryptocurrencies are coming."

Update: 

Ahead of Friday's running at Interlagos, the Mercedes team has suspended its partnership with FTX. All of the crypto company's branding has been stripped from the W13’s livery.

"As a first step, we have suspended our partnership agreement with FTX," the team said in a brief statement to Motorsport.com.

"This means the company will no longer appear on our race car and other branded assets from this weekend. We will continue to monitor closely the situation as it evolves."

FTX has also been removed from the Partners section of the Mercedes-AMG F1 official website.

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