The McLaren team from motor racing’s prestigious Formula 1 (F1) series have today (May 3) announced OKX, a worldwide cryptocurrency exchange, as a primary partner in a multi-year deal.

The agreement covers both the McLaren F1 and esports teams from this year onwards, and will see OKX “supporting the team’s global fan experience [and] providing fans with exciting opportunities and product innovations”, McLaren have said.

This deal comes just over three months after McLaren terminated their sponsorship deal with Turkish crypto exchange firm Bitci.com, after less than a year.

The OKX branding will be visible on the team’s F1 car, on the helmets of drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, and on the team kits of both the F1 and esports staff, from the upcoming Miami Grand Prix (May 8) onwards.

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing’s chief executive, said: "We are thrilled to announce this primary partnership with OKX ahead of the Miami GP. In a rapidly evolving field, OKX is a long-established crypto brand that brings innovation, analytics, and accuracy to accomplish great things.

“The first-ever Miami Grand Prix is the perfect occasion for us to launch this significant partnership.”

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Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer at OKX, added: “The McLaren brand stands for everything that is great about F1. Speed, reliability, and performance are at the core of any top-class crypto trading platform.”

In February, McLaren brought to an end its deal with Bitci – struck in June last year – before the first race of the 2022 season.

McLaren confirmed the termination of the deal to Bloomberg but at the time did not provide a reason.

OKX, meanwhile, struck a deal with Manchester City, of English soccer’s top-tier Premier League, in March this year.

That partnership will span the club's men’s, women’s, and esports teams.

City and OKX will “collaborate on a number of exclusive experiences for OKX’s global customer base", City have said, while the partnership will also see OKX have an in-venue presence at the club’s Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

This in-venue presence extends to the Academy Stadium next door to the first-team venue, and it has been reported by Forbes that the deal is a multi-year affair that is worth millions annually.

OKX, founded in 2017, is the second-largest crypto exchange in terms of transaction volume. The firm is based in Seychelles and claims to operate in over 100 countries.