Ferrari Joins the Crypto Resistance of F1 With Major Sponsorship Decisions for 2023

The crypto wave of sponsorships in F1 will probably be coming to an abrupt end. Teams have been looking to cut ties with their crypto or blockchain partners for the last few months. Ferrari has become the latest team to do so as they probably have taken some major decisions over their sponsorships for 2023.

As per GPBlog.com, sponsorship watchdog Decalspotters have cited Ferrari dropping Velas and Snapdragon from its partners’ list. This may be a major change considering it was just a year ago when the Scuderia announced these partnerships.

The decision to end the partnership with Velas might be part of the wave of crypto resistance in F1. After Mercedes cut off its ties with FTX a few months back following a major slump, Ferrari may have considered taking a similar step. It seems no team wants to be associated with the decreasing hold of crypto in the market.

While the last year or so saw multiple teams signing up Crypto and blockchain partners, this might be a reversal of the same wave. Though, there is no official confirmation statement from the team yet, fans may get an idea upon seeing their 2023 car livery.

Besides Velas, Ferrari has probably also dropped Snapdragon as a partner, as the Qualcomm brand is not visible in the updated partners list on Scuderia’s website. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon has been working with Ferrari on optimizing its data and analysis on the digital cockpit.

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Though, the reason is unclear for this rumored short-term conclusion of this partnership. Snapdragon was supposed to partner for a long term with the Maranello outfit. Regardless, Ferrari has often been in the mix of F1 sponsorship chaos ever since the tobacco brand sponsorship days.

Is Ferrari looking to navigate the Crypto sponsors differently from the Tobacco sponsors of the past?

Back in 2005, there was a tobacco ad ban being implemented in several countries around the world. This majorly affected F1 teams who sported many tobacco brands’ logos on their cars back then. As per Campaignlive.co.uk, teams like BAR and Renault had to look for other sponsors due to the advertising ban, while Ferrari extended its deal with Marlboro.

Marlboro, a Philip Morris-owned tobacco and cigarette brand, had been a partner with Ferrari since the 80s. Hence, the Scuderia looked to continue its association despite the ad ban steadily getting stricter in many countries.

Philip Morris hoped to only run the Marlboro logo on the Ferrari car in specific countries where there wasn’t any ruling on tobacco advertising. Still, Ferrari had to part ways with the brand in 2006.

Since then, Ferrari onboarded several other sponsors and partners such as Santander, Shell, Mission Winnow, and Ray-Ban. These brands are still major partners for the Maranello-based team. So, the Italian team may want to navigate the crypto sponsorship wave better.

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Thus, this reported move of dropping Velas might be a step toward avoiding any crypto chaos associated with the Prancing Horses’ brand image. What do you think of the F1’s recent resistance to crypto partners? Will more teams part ways with their crypto partners?