The NFT Red Bull Racing team is now behind the wheel for the final race of the season.
Red Bull Racing will continue the trend of cryptocurrency and blockchain companies playing a significant role in Formula 1 by printing a non-fungible token (NFT) on the team’s vehicles during the final race of the 2022 season.
After taking Red Bull Racing to the top of the Formula 1 (F1) constructors’ standings in the 2018 season, Max Verstappen topped the drivers’ championship for the second year in a row, winning the championship for the second time in his career. This victory also gave him a chance to win the title for the second time in his career. The last race scheduled for 2022 will take place on November 20, 2022 in Abu Dhabi. This will mean the end of the season. It is believed that this will be the first time in Formula 1 history that a team will have an NFT on its vehicle livery. The race will be the last competition scheduled for 2022.
In February 2022, Red Bull Racing announced that the main sponsor of the team would be the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange. Bybit is one of the few cryptocurrency trading organizations that sponsor Formula 1 teams. The NFT-created artwork inspired by Azuki’s anime collection character, Lei the Lightning, will be displayed in the same place as the exchange’s official emblem.
The collection has a total of 10,000 NFTs, one of which is the first Lei Azuki NFT. At the time of publication of this article, number 8494 was worth approximately 9 wrapped ethers (wET), which is the equivalent of almost $11,100. This is the price at which it is currently advertised on OpenSea.
Lei the Lightning Azuki will drive a special edition vehicle number 8494 for Red Bull Racing. It will initially be minted on the Tezos blockchain before being available for purchase on the NFT marketplace on the Bybit platform.
In a statement issued by the organization, Christian Horner, leader of the Red Bulls Racing team, was quoted. In his remarks, he referred to the partnership’s facilitation of ongoing research into Web3 utilize cases in the sports industry.
The author was reported to have stated, “In many ways, it opened our eyes to the enormous possibilities that Web3 has to offer.” [Bibliography required] One racing driver said: “This once-in-a-lifetime endeavor exemplifies what it means to be creative, imaginative and enthusiastic, all of which are essential to how we conduct ourselves on the racetrack.”
Formula 1, the world’s most popular open-wheel racing sport, has significantly improved the finances of the Bitcoin industry. In June 2021, Crypto.com was announced as an official cryptocurrency and NFT partner after successfully negotiating a lucrative sponsorship deal. A significant amount of money was involved in the contract transaction. Additionally, over the past two years, Chiliz has partnered with other Formula 1 teams to establish contacts.
McLaren was the first team to “take over the colors” in 2022. This meant that the team’s main sponsor, OKX, was responsible for a comprehensive redesign of the kits and colors. Token2049 is expected to be held in Singapore in October 2022. Cointelegraph received permission to conduct an exclusive interview with Australian racing driver Daniel Ricciardo about the partnership that will take place during the event.
The fact that Formula 1 also filed to register a number of trademarks in October 2022 lends credence to the notion that the organization 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.
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