F1 Team uses OpenSea for Racing NFT Marketplace, Cross Promotion

Racing fans, start your engines.

Haas F1 Team, the only American-owned team in the FIA ​​Formula 1 World Championship, today announced a partnership with OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume.

The new deal will include the production of a series of branded NFTs and cross-promotion during racing events where the OpenSea logo will appear on the Haas F1 Team VF-22 series cars.

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are cryptographically unique tokens tied to digital and physical content, providing proof of ownership for things like artwork, music, memorabilia, and items in video games.

“NFTs have the incredible power to unlock new experiences and give us a canvas to bring people together around the things they love in new ways,” Shiva Rajaraman, VP of Product at OpenSea, said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing innovative collections to life with the Haas F1 Team, building new experiences for their community of dedicated fans, and offering new ways for everyone to get even closer to the action.”

Crypto’s sports hurdles

Haas’ deal with OpenSea is the latest in sports leagues – and racing brands in particular – to adopt Web3 technology to expand their reach and brand awareness. Back in April, crypto exchange FTX and F1 team Mercedes-AMG Petronas announced a collection of racing NFT collectibles around the Miami Grand Prix and the 2022 racing season.

In June 2021, Tezoswhich had already partnered with Red Bull Racing, announced a partnership with F1 team McClaren Racing.

But sports partnerships in Web3 have been a mixed bag, with only a handful of successful ventures.

In June 2022, FTX confirmed that it had withdrawn out of discussions to sponsor a jersey patch with the Los Angeles Angels, tells Decrypt it wasn’t the right fit for their marketing goals. They said the decision was not a result of the recent market downturn.

Rival exchange Crypto.com saw its own sports league sponsorship deals hit a snag in August 2022 when it pulled out of a $495 million sponsorship deal with the European Champions League (UEFA). The Crypto.com deal came after UEFA’s previous sponsorship deal with Russian natural gas company Gazprom was canceled by the league following the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

But Guenther Steiner, team manager of the Haas F1 Team, is confident about the cooperation with OpenSea.

“We have been waiting to find the right partner in the NFT space and in OpenSea we have found just that,” said Steiner, “It will be exciting for us to take our first steps into the NFT community and engage with OpenSea’s passionate community.”