At the beginning of the year, the transnational company Visa, which provides payment transaction services, became the title sponsor of the RB team. According to the business publication SportsBusiness, Visa’s main competitor, the American Mastercard, is negotiating with four Formula 1 teams to sign a sponsorship contract.
McLaren is considered the favorite in negotiations with Mastercard, since the team is offering title sponsor status. If an agreement is reached, the Woking team will be renamed McLaren Mercedes Mastercard.
SportsBusiness lists Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin as other teams in talks. It is likely that decisive negotiations will take place during the Miami Grand Prix, as a result of which one of the four teams will receive a major sponsor.
According to information, Ferrari offered Mastercard a title sponsor contract for $100 million, but HP’s offer was preferable. If Mastercard still decides to cooperate with the Scuderia, then they will have to be content with a lower-level sponsorship agreement.
The last time payment system logos were introduced in Formula 1 was in 2001, when the company sponsored Jordan.
