Motor racing-Revolut to become title partner of Audi F1 team

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) -British financial technology giant Revolut will become title partner of the Audi Formula One team from next season in a "monumental" multi-year deal, both parties announced on Wednesday.

The fast-growing London-based fintech company was valued at $45 billion last year through a secondary share sale to new and existing investors.

Swiss-based Sauber are becoming the factory Audi team in 2026, when Formula One starts a new engine era with major rule changes and an 11th team on the grid with the arrival of Cadillac.

Jonathan Wheatley, principal of the Audi team, said the deal had been put together in less than four months and had obvious benefits for both sides.

"If you imagine we need to engage with our fans, we need a partner that's going to help us do that," Wheatley told Reuters in a video call.

"We need to expand hugely into this incredible global space that Formula One is in at the moment, and we need to become the most attractive team in Formula One."

Wheatley said the deal reflected Audi's brand strength and was a "good news story for Formula One."

"It's the Audi magnet that's drawing a lot of people here right now," he said, speaking from the team headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland.

Revolut has more than 55 million customers but has no physical branches. It gained a banking licence in Britain in 2024, after a three-year wait, and has global expansion plans.

Antoine Le Nel, Revolut's chief marketing officer, gave no financial details of the F1 partnership but said the company was in for the long run with Audi and aiming for 100 million customers by 2027.

He said Revolut had been looking for a platform to help the company build on its expansion.

"I think we have a true opportunity to really bring F1 to a huge audience," he told Reuters.

"From a retail perspective as well as a business perspective, I think there's going to be a lot of opportunities for us to connect the fan base to the sport through the Revolut platform."

Le Nel said Audi taking on the established teams in Formula One was like Revolut competing against traditional banks.

"If you look at Audi, very premium German brand dominating its market, it's where we want to be," he said. "It's a way for Revolut to elevate and get to where Audi has been for such a long time."

Audi said Revolut Business would be extensively integrated into the team's financial operations.

Sauber are sixth in the 10 team championship ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix and have scored in their last five races.

German driver Nico Hulkenberg celebrated his first F1 podium at Silverstone this month, finishing third in the British Grand Prix in a major boost for the team.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)