Amid Recent FTX Hit, Mercedes F1 Could Take Another Financial Blow as $2 Billion Worth Sponsor Pushed to End Partnership

Mercedes F1 team may lose one of its sponsors in the upcoming months. As an investment fund, Petrus Advisers is pressurizing German tech company Team Viewer AG to end the deal. Team Viewer currently sponsors the Mercedes-AMG F1 team and Premier League’s Manchester United. The fund has termed the sponsorships as a sign of ‘appalling judgment’ on Team Viewer’s part.

Petrus Advisers owns less than 3% of the stake in Team Viewer. Although it has been taking the stand for several months, it won’t tolerate spending almost $73m on sports sponsorships. They wrote a letter to the company’s CEO Oliver Steil and Finance Chief Michael Wilkins.

In the letter, they stated, “You are not SAP, Oracle, or Mercedes. Yet you do not seem to get it.”

They highlighted the ‘appalling judgment’ from the company to spend so much money on these deals. This letter was written by Klaus Umek and Till Hufnagel, managing partners at Petrus.

Team Viewer is a remote working software that gained a lot of growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are reportedly paying $57 million to Manchester United annually for being a shirt sponsor. In March 2021, they struck the deal with Mercedes-AMG to sponsor both its Formula 1 and Formula E teams for a five-year term.

The German tech company’s valuation has come down significantly since the pandemic boom that it witnessed. The current valuation for Team Viewer stands at $2.07 billion. Mercedes F1 recently also has been sweating over its sponsorship with FTX, amidst the recent FTX slump.

Read More: Mercedes F1 Takes Major Hit In Crypto-Crash As $32 Billion Sponsor Faces Bankruptcy

With pressure from the investors, it will be worth watching if Team Viewer takes any actions to prematurely end its deal with Mercedes.

Who are Mercedes-AMG F1 Sponsors and Partners?

Irrespective of the on-track performance being good or bad, the Mercedes F1 team benefits largely from all of its partners. Besides Team Viewer, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team has a number of sponsors and partners. Here is a list of some of the team’s major sponsors:

• Petronas: A leading energy solutions company, Petronas has the been Title and Technical partner since 2010.
• UBS: The Swiss investment bank is one of the major partners for the last 10 years.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise: HPE is a cloud platform service delivering solutions for improving business operations.
• AMD: AMD is a global leader in high-performance computer graphics and computing.

• Monster Energy: A famous energy drink brand, Monster sponsors several motorsports and adventure sports teams, including F1.
• The Ritz-Carlton: Part of Marriott-International, The Ritz-Carlton is the official hotel partner for the Mercedes F1 team.
• Tommy Hilfiger: A premium lifestyle brand, the Tommy Hilfiger brand heavily features on all team clothing outfits.
• IWC Schaffhausen: A Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, IWC has been the Official Engineering partner since 2013.

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Every F1 team on the grid has its own set of partners and sponsors that contribute and ease their operations besides racing on the track. Which is your favorite brand you wish to see on your F1 team’s car?