Fintech Airwallex will today extend its partnership with the McLaren Formula 1 team after both organisations enjoyed steep valuation boosts, City AM can reveal.
The partnership, initially announced in 2024, will be renewed and upgraded, making Airwallex the Formula 1 constructors’ champions’ AI finance partner.
It comes amid a boom for both brands. McLaren was valued at more than £3.5bn when its majority shareholder, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, purchased all other shares – roughly 30 per cent – in the Formula 1 team alongside an Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle.
Australia-founded business payments provider Airwallex hit a valuation of over £8bn in June after raising over £230m in a Series H funding round.
The new partnership – announced today at an Airwallex Shift event at Bafta – positions it alongside McLaren title sponsor Mastercard, and firms such as OKX, Google and Allwyn. The team counts nearly 60 sponsors within its portfolio.
Airwallex extends deal
That has helped McLaren to report significant revenue growth. The organisation’s McLaren Racing Ltd accounts are expected to see the team to remain on track to surpass £550m in revenue this year, with Brown set for a payout of around £75m.
“This closely aligns with our broader strategy to help businesses move faster and more profitably than their competitors, and as we enter the Agentic Banking era,” Airwallex’s Pranav Sood said.
Airwallex enjoys sports partnerships with the likes of Premier League champions Arsenal and Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. Its London office in Fitzrovia, which opened last year, features a 3D representation of McLaren driver Lando Norris’s head.
McLaren Racing chief finance officer Laura Bowden said: “Partnering closely with Airwallex demonstrates our long-term commitment to investing in faster, more efficient technology.”
Formula 1 returns this weekend for the first race of a triple-header – across the United States, Mexico and Brazil – before weekends in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.