As has happened throughout the sporting arena, cryptocurrency companies have also dominated Formula 1 teams. And in the last weekend, at the São Paulo Grand Prix, which takes place in Interlagos, seven different brands can be seen in ten companies.
They are: Crypto.com (Aston Martin and F1), Velas (Ferrari), Binance (Alpine), Bybit (Red Bull), OKX (McLaren), Lif3.com (AlphaTauri), Aximtrade (Alfa Romeo). Until this Thursday the 10th there were eight, but Mercedes announced the suspension of the agreement with FTX. In a statement released in Brazil, the team announced the removal of the branding from the rear wing of the W13.
Bahamas-based exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy after falling into turmoil over a report last week alleging the existence of a company-owned hedge fund holding billions of dollars worth of FTX’s own currency, FTT, which was used as collateral on other loans.
Some of these deals are recent, like Red Bull and Ferrari, announced in the first half of the year. Crypto.com, considered one of the main exchanges in this sector, has a sponsorship agreement for the F1 races in Miami.
“The cryptocurrency segment has invested heavily in the sport and has raised the bar, paying values above what the market was paying. Regardless of the volatility of this market, I think that because it is still very young, it will go through a lot of fluctuations, even some sort of natural selection. It is up to the sponsored teams to do their due diligence and have contractual clauses that protect them. “, says the specialist in new business Arménio Neto, responsible for negotiating contracts involving brands, companies and clubs.
Although the contracts are confidential, it is estimated that the deals made by these companies, added to the awards, easily exceed billions. Proof of this is Red Bull’s contract with Bybit, considered the largest in the history of this sport and estimated at USD 150 million.
When announcing the sponsorship, Bybit stated that the popularity of the sport has grown on a global scale and that the goal was to attract this audience, which is estimated to reach the one billion fan mark worldwide in a very short time.
This also has to do with the launch of the Netflix series Drive do Survive. Liberty Media, The media group that owns the broadcast rights to Formula 1 estimates that in the last two years of 2019 and 2020 more than 800 million users were reached with the series, generating a growth of 99%..
“Original content still adds value in a large revenue queue, which does not expire when the event ends. With good reason, Netflix invested more than USD 17 billion in new original content in 2022”, says Bruno Maia, specialist in innovation and new technologies in sports and entertainment and partner of Feel The Match, developer of intellectual property for Web3 and Streaming, and producer and director of audiovisual series on globoplay, such as ‘Nos Armarios do Vestiários ‘, and the film ‘Romário – O Dude’ for HBO MAX (released in 2023).
similar audiences
The question that remains is why exchanges have reached out to teams, and the answer has to do with the fact that young people are great defenders of cryptocurrencies, also related to the explosion of the Netflix series Drive to Survive, according to executives who own the crypto companies. Other relevant data came from a study by the consulting firm Stilt, published this year, which pointed out common characteristics between F1 fans and the consumption of cryptocurrencies, mainly related to age.
The fact is that the audience has been growing with Formula 1. In 2021, it totaled USD 2.14 billion, an increase of 87% over the previous year. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, held at the end of last season, was watched by 108.7 million people.
“The dissolution of the interest of the youngest is evident. Time is running out and the younger generations do not expect motor racing, football or any other sport to solve this problem. The success of entertainment depends on the possibility that consumers can choose what they want to see, a model already incorporated by the new generations and different from the one responsible for popularizing soccer”, adds Bruno Maia.
The stakes also grow
In the midst of the growth of the modality, another area that is greatly affected in this period are the betting platforms. Even with fewer dates on the calendar, Formula 1 events attract their fair share of punters, most of them quite loyal to the sport.
“Although the Brazilian public loves soccer and concentrates a large number of bets on this sport, Formula 1 has a very loyal following and this shows in the betting, especially if one takes into account that there are far fewer events in this sport in a season that, for example, basketball, soccer or volleyball. And even with the fact that we already have the definition of the champion driver, which may reduce public interest in the event, the Brazilian event increases the importance of the race for the local public.“, explains Ricardo Bianco Rosada, CMO of galley.bet.
According to figures from another bookmaker, Esportes da Sorte, F1 is the fifth most important sport in terms of the number of bets, behind only football, volleyball, basketball and tennis. In addition, it is possible to observe a significant increase when the test is carried out in Brazil.
“The media about the Brazilian GP are very impressive and lead bettors to look much more for the modality. Consulting data retroactive to 2021, we identified that the Brazilian GP had a 100% higher demand than any other GP last season. What we have seen and it stands out that Formula 1 has a growing interest among Brazilian bettors, maintaining an average of more than 10% monthly increase (always compared to the previous month)”, reveals Daniel Trajano, commercial director of Esportes da Sorte.
Despite this growth in the volume of bets for this year, the executives clarified that it is not possible to verify if the famous Netflix series Drive to Survive is trying to contribute to this in Brazil.
“We were unable to establish this relationship between the series and the increase in bets, as several other factors, between 2018 and the current year, 2022, may have contributed to this increase.”, points out Daniel Trajano.
“In Brazil it is difficult to make this observation because, in addition to being a very young market in terms of sports betting, it is a public that has faithfully followed Formula 1 for decades. What can be seen abroad, however, is a relative increase in interest in the sport after the series. In some countries, such as England and the United States, the sport gained new fans, and therefore new players, after the series.“adds Ricardo Bianco Rosada.
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