Red Bull Racing’s cars will feature a nonfungible token (NFT) on their livery in what is being called a first in F1. Lei the Lightning Azuki, an NFT artwork and character from the anime-inspired Azuki collection, will represent the team.
The NFT team of Red Bull Racing is now in the driver’s seat for the last race of the season.
Red Bull Racing will continue the trend of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology companies playing a significant role in Formula 1 by imprinting a nonfungible token (NFT) on the team’s vehicles during the last race of the 2022 season.
After taking Red Bull Racing to the top of the constructors’ standings in Formula One (F1) during the 2018 season, Max Verstappen finished first in the drivers’ standings for the second consecutive year, capturing the championship for the second time in his career. This victory also afforded him the chance to win the title for a second time in his career. On November 20, 2022, the last race scheduled for 2022 will be held in Abu Dhabi. This will signify the end of the season. It is thought that this will be the first time in Formula One history that a team will feature an NFT on the vehicle’s livery. The race will be the last competition scheduled for the year 2022.
Red Bull Racing announced in February 2022 that the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit would be the team’s primary sponsor. Bybit is one of just a handful of organisations that trade in cryptocurrency that sponsor Formula One teams. The artwork created by the NFT and the anime-inspired Azuki collection character Lei the Lightning will be displayed in the same space as the exchange’s official emblem.
The collection has a total of 10,000 NFTs, one of which being the very first Lei Azuki NFT. At the time this article was published, the #8494 was worth around 9 Wrapped Ether (wETH), which is equivalent to nearly $11,100 USD. This is the price it is presently advertised at on OpenSea.
Lei the Lightning Azuki will drive a special edition version of the vehicle with the number 8494 for Red Bull Racing. It will initially be minted on the Tezos blockchain before being available for purchase on the NFT market on Bybit’s platform.
Christian Horner, the leader of the Red Bulls Racing team, was cited in an organization-issued statement. In his remark, he addressed the partnership’s facilitation of the ongoing research of Web3 use cases in the sports industry.
The author is reported as stating, “In many respects, it has opened our eyes to the tremendous opportunities Web3 has to offer.” [Bibliography required] One of the racing drivers said, “This one-of-a-kind endeavour exemplifies what it is to be creative, imaginative, and enthusiastic, all of which are essential to how we conduct ourselves on the racetrack.”
Formula One, the top open-wheel racing sport in the world, has significantly boosted the Bitcoin industry’s finances. In June 2021, Crypto.com was declared the official partner for cryptocurrencies and NFTs after successfully negotiating a lucrative sponsorship agreement. A substantial amount of money was involved in the contract transaction. In addition, during the course of the previous two years, Chiliz has partnered with other Formula One teams to establish ties.
McLaren was the first team to successfully accomplish a “livery takeover” in 2022. This meant that the team’s principal sponsor, OKX, was responsible for a comprehensive redesign of the outfits and livery. In October of 2022, Token2049 is expected to take place in Singapore. Cointelegraph was given permission to do an exclusive interview with Australian race car driver Daniel Ricciardo on the partnership that will occur at the event.
The fact that Formula 1 also made an application for a number of trademarks in October 2022 lends credence to the notion that the organisation seeks exclusive control over all intellectual property in the bitcoin industry. Formula 1 filed a number of trademark applications with its entries in October 2022.
