Stake co-founder champions strength of F1 as Sauber launches new season’s car

Stake co-founder Ed Craven has praised the commercial strength of F1 at a lavish ceremony held at London’s historic Guildhall as the operator unveiled the new C44 Sauber F1 car. 

Guests arrived at the event to see the exterior of the Guildhall lit up with the team’s vivid green colour and “unleashed” mantra, as the crypto-first operator launched its first activation of its new title sponsorship with the Sauber F1 team.

To mark the launch on 5 February, the event kicked off with a press conference featuring the team’s drivers, Valterri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, alongside Stake F1 Team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi and technical director for the team, James Key.  

During the car unveil, Stake co-founders Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani were standing at the front of the crowd to witness the momentous occasion as the black and green livery of the C44 was revealed. The team’s drivers, Alunni Bravi and Key were followed on stage later that evening by Stake ambassador Sergio Aguero during the after party.

Having previously been co-title sponsor of the Sauber team last year alongside Alfa Romeo, crypto casino operator Stake took over as exclusive title partner last month for 2024 and 2025.

For races held in countries where gambling advertising is prohibited such as Australia and Belgium, Alunni Bravi told media at the launch that the team will switch over to the Kick Sauber name as streaming platform Kick, backed by Stake’s co-founders, has the chassis naming rights.

“Last year, we alternated to different team names according to the different countries where we go racing. We will be fully compliant with all the local applicable laws and where Stake is permitted. So, where gambling advertising is prohibited, we will use a different name,” he clarified.

Speaking to EGR during a roundtable interview at the launch night, Craven explained how the F1 partnership with Stake first came about: “We started to notice about three years ago how global the F1 sporting event had become. It was reaching every continent, almost every country. That for us was very powerful in terms of the messaging you can get across for a company like Stake that operates in a very global capacity.”

For Craven, seeing the Stake brand emblazoned across an F1 car is a far cry for the early days of when the crypto company was first founded seven years ago. “When Stake started off, the market we were aiming for was much smaller and it was a niche industry but it’s grown a lot. Our ambitions have also grown and every year we set the bar a little higher,” he said.

Outside of the F1 partnership, Stake is front-of-shirt sponsor of Premier League side Everton. On the group’s prominent branding in the English top flight, Craven remarked: “When it comes to the F1, there’s the global aspect where you’ve got an event that goes from city to city all around the world that’s unprecedented. The EPL is also extremely global in its viewership which is great for credibility. But the audience and the demographic surrounding F1 really resonates with our brand.”