Red Bull has announced cryptocurrency FuturoCoin as a new sponsor for the 2019 F1 season.

The multi-year sponsorship deal will see FuturoCoin’s logos appear on the Red Bull RB15, which will be launched next week, one the overalls of drivers Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly (above) and the team’s transporters.

“The rise of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies has been truly remarkable, and we’re delighted to be the first Formula 1 team to embrace this through our partnership with FuturoCoin,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

“Secure digital currencies are on the leading edge of technological development and we are very excited to be part of this revolution.”

FuturoCoin co-founder Roman Ziemian said: “Cryptocurrencies and Formula One are very similar and their values are much alike; speed, technology and being ahead of their time. I’m a huge fan of motorsport and F1 has always intrigued me. The sponsorship is an exciting new chapter for our company and will be a global platform for us to drive awareness of FuturoCoin.”

Red Bull is not alone in attracting sponsorship from a cryptocurrency. Haas driver Romain Grosjean has attracted backing from SoccerCoin, whose logos will appear on his helmet this year.

Cryptocurrencies, the most famous example of which is Bitcoin, have grown in popularity in recent years. The technology allows people to exchange money through a decentralised system as opposed to traditional centralised currencies and banks. There are believed to be several thousand different cryptocurrencies in operation.

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2019 F1 season