Mercedes F1 team suspends deal with failed crypto exchange FTX
Mercedes has suspended its partnership with crypto exchange FTX after the exchange collapsed owing billions of dollars.
An exclusive NFT created for Mercedes as part of the FTX partnership. (Mercedes)
The exchange filed for voluntary bankruptcy last week, followed by the resignation of CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Internal spreadsheets indicate between $1 billion and $2 billion USD is unaccounted for, according to Reuters sources.
Mercedes suspended the partnership ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
"This means the company will no longer appear on our race car and other branded assets from this weekend," said a team spokesperson.
"We will continue to monitor closely the situation as it evolves."
Team boss Toto Wolff expanded on the situation on a call after the Grand Prix.
"…this situation is very unfortunate."
"We considered FTX because they were one of the most credible and solid, financially sound partners that were out there," said Wolff, per Reuters.
“And out of nowhere we can see that a crypto company can basically be on its knees and gone (in) one week."
"That shows how vulnerable the sector still is.”
“There’s so many customers, investors and partners like us that have been left in utter disbelief at what has happened."
The Mercedes NFT collection listed on the FTX marketplace. (RACEWEEK)
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team signed a sponsorship deal with FTX in 2021 and progressed the partnership in 2022 with a series of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) released both free and for purchase.
An announcement from the NFT project stated 2,500 free NFTs and 1,000 limited edition NFTs would be released at up to five races throughout the season.
The website for the partnership displays the message "This website is temporarily offline."
