McLaren Racing has selected Tezos, a Luxembourg-based open-source blockchain protocol for assets and applications, to become the team’s official blockchain partner in a new multi-year technical partnership across Formula 1, INDYCAR and esports.

McLaren will use the energy efficient and upgradeable Tezos network to create a non-fungible token (NFT) platform with fan experience at the heart.

Earlier this month, Red Bull Racing Honda had embarked on a similar partnership with Tezos.

McLaren will build a dedicated platform that brings its racing heritage and renowned driver line-ups across its multiple teams to offer a NFT fan experience.

For Tezos and McLaren, sustainability through innovation is key. Embracing clean NFTs and energy-efficient networks ensures that the impact of this new medium to share creative expression is not offset by unnecessarily high energy consumption.

Unlike traditional Proof of Work blockchains, Tezos’s Proof of Stake mechanism is said to be significantly more energy-efficient approach to securing its network, using two million times less energy than Proof of Work networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

This allows Tezos to operate cleanly, with minimal energy consumption and a negligible carbon footprint.

As part of the partnership, the Tezos brand will be represented across the McLaren Formula 1 and Arrow McLaren SP teams, including on the race suits of McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo, and AMSP drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist.

Lindsey Eckhouse, Director, Licensing, ecommerce and esports, McLaren Racing said,

“Tezos and McLaren Racing uniting to create a unique fan-focused NFT platform is an innovative step in an exciting and rapidly developing industry.

 

At McLaren we are known for putting fans at the heart of everything we do, and this is another partnership which allows us to enter a space where fans can own key pieces of our team.”

Hubertus Thonhauser, Chair, Tezos Foundation said,

“McLaren Racing has one of the longest and most illustrious legacies in Formula 1 racing, and we are excited that they have chosen to bring it to the Tezos blockchain through their NFT Fan engagement platform.

 

The concept of blockchain is evolving, becoming faster, more secure, and more efficient. This requires a blockchain that can keep up with this rapid pace of innovation.”

Featured image: Photo by Wes Tindel on Unsplash