Cryptocurrency exchange OKX will again co-design an F1 livery for partner McLaren Racing this season, the crypto firm’s CMO, Haider Rafique, said in an interview after a panel appearance with McLaren CEO Zak Brown and driver Lando Norris at the Tribeca Festival that OKX is sponsoring. OKX and McLaren teamed up last fall on the Future Mode livery that Norris and former teammate Daniel Ricciardo drove in Singapore and Japan.
🚨HAPPENING NOW 🚨
The all-star “need for speed” panel at @Tribeca lights up the stage including #OKX CMO @Haider, McLaren F1 CEO @ZBrownCEO, and @McLarenF1’s @LandoNorris! 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/z2wZSzaA8N
— OKX (@okx) June 13, 2023
Rafique said the story that OKX helped to tell with its Future Mode livery last year centered on “why the two brands are coming together and how we’re together collectively embracing innovation.” As the crypto market continues its tumult, Rafique said the bigger question is not about any specific granular activation, but rather, “Why is a crypto company still in the sport when there’s a big chaos happening in the industry?”
Noting the continuation of work with Manchester City and McLaren, he said, “We are surviving and everything we said is sort of coming into fruition. We’re here, we’re stable, and we’re going to continue to expand with these guys.”
Added Brown, “When we put the partnership together, we were in a fortunate position. Given the influx of crypto in the sport, we had the opportunity to choose our partner because we had a handful of approaches. And so we did a lot of homework, spent a lot of time with Haider and his team, and it was clear to us that OKX was best in class, and it’s proven to be correct. We have an advisory team was pretty savvy in the space.”