Visa signed a three-year sponsorship with Red Bull Technology worth $75 million, putting the payments network on the RB21 chassis starting with pre-season testing in Bahrain next month. The deal runs through 2027 and includes branding on the engine cover, team kit, and hospitality suites at all 24 races. Red Bull Commercial Director Oliver Hughes signed the contract in Milton Keynes on Tuesday. Visa's North America president Chris Curtin will attend the Miami Grand Prix as the activation centerpiece.
The partnership extends Visa's motorsport footprint beyond its existing NASCAR and IndyCar deals but marks its first direct Formula 1 team sponsorship. Red Bull Technology—distinct from the energy-drink parent—operates the four-time defending constructors' champion team that delivered Max Verstappen 19 wins in 2023. Visa replaces Bybit, the crypto exchange that paid Red Bull roughly $50 million over two years before pulling out last October when FTX's collapse chilled digital-asset marketing budgets. The 50 percent premium reflects Formula 1's U.S. audience growth: Nielsen pegged the 2024 Miami race at 3.1 million American viewers, up from 2.6 million in 2023.
The deal matters because it shows payment networks treating Formula 1 as premium customer-acquisition real estate, not charity branding. Visa processed $14.3 trillion in transactions last year and competes with Mastercard, which sponsors the Mercedes team and pays roughly $60 million annually. Curtin's decision to attach Visa to Verstappen—who has 61 career wins and a Q-rating among U.S. males 18-34 that rivals LeBron James—signals the company sees Formula 1 as a lever for its Tap to Pay and contactless-checkout growth. Visa's U.S. contactless volume grew 28 percent year-over-year in Q4 2024, and the company has publicly tied that growth to sports partnerships that normalize phone-based payments at stadiums. Red Bull Racing's paddock hospitality hosts 120 brand executives and allocators per race weekend, giving Visa's payments team face time with CMOs who control retail checkout infrastructure.
The contract includes activation rights at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Las Vegas, and Miami—the three U.S. races that draw 400,000 combined attendees. Visa will also sponsor Red Bull's esports team, which has 2.3 million followers on Twitch and runs exhibitions before eight grands prix. The esports component matters because it gives Visa access to the 16-to-25 demographic that streams races on F1 TV but skips linear broadcast. Red Bull's commercial team, led by Hughes, has signed $340 million in new partnerships since Bybit's exit, including deals with Polaroid and Puma. The Visa contract puts Red Bull Technology's total sponsorship revenue near $580 million for 2025, behind only Ferrari at an estimated $620 million.
Watch for Visa's on-car placement when Red Bull unveils the RB21 livery on February 18th in London. Industry sources expect Visa's logo on the rear wing endplates and engine cover, positions previously held by Bybit and worth roughly $25 million annually in brand valuation. Mastercard will likely respond with increased activation at Mercedes, possibly adding a title-sponsorship element when that team's commercial contracts renew in September. Red Bull's 2026 engine partnership with Ford also comes into play: Visa's U.S. exposure through Ford's dealer network could extend the sponsorship into a co-branded credit card product, a structure similar to the Aston Martin-Amex arrangement.
Visa's CFO mentioned "strategic sports investments" on the company's January earnings call three weeks before this deal went public. The timing was not coincidental.