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

The 2022 F1 season hasn’t been a great one for the Mercedes AMG F1 team. The team from Brackley not only lost their constructors’ championship to Red Bull but also trailing Ferrari in the P2 position in the standings. Amid all these, the German team has landed themselves in big sponsor trouble.

FTX, one of the leading sponsors of the Mercedes F1 team, is almost on the verge of bankruptcy. As the investors withdrew around $6 Billion in the last three reported days, the company is amid huge financial doom. With this, the Brackley-based team might follow suit as they might have to move forward without FTX from now on.

As the situation develops, it is believed that the company might be filed for bankruptcy anytime soon. The FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried also admitted on social media that the situation is critical. However, the company that was once valued at $32 Billion is still searching for ways to get out of this huge slump.

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As for Mercedes, losing a sponsor of this magnitude might be tension worthy. However, it’s still unclear if the crypto exchange company has paid off all the sponsorship payments to the German F1 giants.

How did Mercedes AMG F1 tie up with their sponsor FTX?

The German F1 team tied up with the Crypto giants in 2021. The official statements from Mercedes stated, “The Mercedes F1 Team is delighted to announce a new long-term partnership with FTX, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange.”

“This relationship will span multiple race seasons with the FTX logo being featured prominently on both the cars and the drivers. The FTX logo will also be featured on the team’s fleet of Mercedes-Benz trucks, in the garage,” and so on as the report further stated.

FTX also had access to team drivers Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas [in 2021], and George Russell. With these, the crypto giants have become a renowned name in the F1 world gradually.

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Apart from the Mercedes F1 team, the crypto company was a sponsor of the International Cricket Council, the Miami Heat of the NBA, and a principal partner of Team Solo Mid (TSM). The company has tennis star Naomi Osaka as its global brand ambassador.