MILTON KEYNES, England: The Red Bull Formula One team has secured a new title sponsorship worth around $500 million with technology firm Oracle, placing it among the most lucrative commercial deals in sports.
The five-year deal is a lift to the team ahead of the season beginning next month when Max Verstappen will be looking to defend his world title in a new Oracle Red Bull Racing car that was also revealed on Wednesday.
Financial details were not disclosed but a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press it was worth around $100 million a year. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential terms.
“We’re all about speed and the speed of response,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said in an interview with The Associated Press at the team’s central England headquarters. “We’re pushing the Oracle technical guys. But they’re responding in the best possible way. And that’s what makes this partnership very exciting.”
With a new cost cap of $145 million for teams introduced for the upcoming season, Oracle’s cloud computing is also seen as a way of stretching the budget further.
“We’ve got a brand new set of regulations, a new technical challenge,” Horner said. “We’ve got financial regulations that are driving and forcing efficiency, which is again where this partnership helps us to make sure that we’re as efficient and productive as we possibly can be.”
Additional resources and any edge in computing power can help when titles are decided, like in December, on the final lap in the final race of the season when Verstappen was able to controversially overtake Lewis Hamilton and dethrone the Mercedes driver as world champion.
“I’ll take a certain American’s perspective,” Oracle executive vice president Ariel Kelman, the chief marketing officer, said in a video call. “F1 is the fastest growing sport that we’re seeing in terms of an excitement here and around the world and for technology companies.
“It’s just such a perfect fit because it’s the most high-tech sport, the most dangerous sport. So it just provides an amazing showcase for all the amazing technology.”
Beyond the cash that is another signal of the resurgent appeal of F1, Red Bull will be tapping further into the expertise provided by the Austin-based company for cloud computing, engine development and driver development.
“It is helping us to move into the cloud and particularly with the advent of powertrains (Red Bull’s power unit manufacturing company developing engines from 2026) as well, just opening the suite of technology that Oracle have available to them to our engineers is almost like going into a candy store and looking at what do they want to utilize,” Horner said.
Kelman is a relative newcomer to F1, starting to watch in 2018 and being increasingly gripped as the Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive” premiered the following year taking fans behind the scenes.
“It’s just that level of competitiveness and just the amazing TV product that everyone’s created combined together really sucked me in,” Kelman said.
Red Bull F1 clinches new $500M title sponsorship with Oracle
https://arab.news/yqhb8
Red Bull F1 clinches new $500M title sponsorship with Oracle
- “We’re all about speed and the speed of response,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said
- “I’ll take a certain American’s perspective,” said Oracle executive vice president Ariel Kelman
Horses central to major Vision 2030 projects in Kingdom, racing leaders say
- Asian Racing Conference in Riyadh hears about host of new equine projects
RIYADH: Leaders of Vision 2030 projects across Saudi Arabia told delegates at the 41st Asian Racing Conference that equestrianism and other sports are having a crucial impact on wider economic development and investment in the country.
Sport has been at the core of Saudi Arabia’s vision with significant investments in golf, tennis and football but the country’s love of horseracing means it is seen as a central driver of many projects maturing across the Kingdom.
The topic was covered during a panel session on Tuesday at the 41st ARC in Riyadh, organized by the Asian Racing Federation and hosted by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia.
On the day news broke of a new racetrack to be constructed at Qiddiya just outside the capital, it was clear that horses are a key part of Saudi communities and a driver of economic growth.
Panelist Tim Hadaway, equestrian development executive director, sports sector, AlUla, said the horse was at the heart of much of their strategic thinking at a venue which will host an FEI World Championship event later this year.
“The horse is really one of the key strategic pillars of the project, part of Vision 2030 to drive economic development and diversity as well as the development of tourism, to showcase this part of the Kingdom to the world.”
He welcomed the increasing collaboration between various horse racing projects in the country.
“We’re working together, looking at what the ecosystem needs across the Kingdom, and to find that really strong infrastructure, that really strong development, that our company is going to see and helps the Kingdom succeed on the international stage.”
Marc Hewett, executive director, head of racecourse, Qiddiya Investment Co., was delighted to announce plans of the new racecourse on the site that will become the home of The Saudi Cup.
“Creating economic stability and economic rights, increasing equity, increasing demand, job creation, sustainability, targets and improving that infrastructure.
“These developments were all based around core, residential, education, sport, and retail projects. We’re embracing the power of play, new residents and social communities, 500,000 residents, 200,000 jobs, tourism, hospitality, education, sports and entertainment.”
