- Binance pulled out of FTX deal earlier this week
- FTX had sponsored Mercedes since September 2021
The Mercedes Formula One team have suspended their sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency exchange FTX ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix and will not run its logo on their cars.
Mercedes signed the original sponsorship deal with FTX in September 2021, and the team unveiled a collection of FTX-backed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as recently as April this year.
Rival exchange Binance had signed a non-binding agreement in an attempt to save FTX but, after performing due diligence, determined the problems with the company were simply too great for it to get involved.
“As a first step, we have suspended our partnership agreement with FTX,” a Mercedes team spokesman said.
“This means the company will no longer appear on our race car and other branded assets from this weekend. We will continue to monitor closely the situation as it evolves.”
Following the announcement, FTX has confirmed it is filing for bankruptcy.