Red Bull were reportedly blocked from entering into a new sponsorship deal with AI-powered startup Perplexity after title sponsor Oracle stepped in to block the agreement, which was worth £4million ($5m) per year.
According to a report from The Verge, Oracle must approve all new sponsorships for the Red Bull team. The computer technology company signed a groundbreaking five-year title sponsorship deal with the Milton Keynes squad in 2022 worth £240m ($300m).
The report states that Perplexity is a rival bidder in Oracle’s attempt to buy the social media platform TikTok. The AI startup is also directly competing with Stargate, which Oracle is backing.
While Red Bull’s deal with Perplexity was denied, the six-time constructor champions have signed a high-profile sponsorship with 1Password. From the 2025 season onward, the company will be the team’s ‘exclusive cybersecurity partner’.
“Everyone at Oracle Red Bull Racing is excited to welcome 1Password to the Red Bull family as our exclusive Cybersecurity Partner,” team principal Christian Horner said.
“As the start of the 2025 Formula One season approaches, it is critical that our entire organisation has secure, trusted access to critical information so we can continue to make confident, data-driven decisions trackside and back at the factory in Milton Keynes.
“1Password investing and partnering in the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme shows further proof of the spirit and depth of our collaboration. We look forward to pushing the limits and innovating with 1Password, including debuting a team-first steering wheel branding display that will feature when Max [Verstappen] and Liam [Lawson] first hit the track.”
David Faugno, CEO of 1Password, added: “Partnering with a world champion like Oracle Red Bull Racing is an incredible opportunity. As a dominant force in Formula One, their success relies on engineering excellence, innovation, and seamless, secure access to critical information anywhere.
“At 1Password, we believe security should empower productivity and integrate effortlessly into the way people work. That’s why we protect every sign-in, every point of access, and every piece of critical information—so the team can stay focused on what they do best: winning.”
While Red Bull are still attracting new commercial partners away from the race track, Horner’s team face a make-or-break season on the track. Verstappen won a fourth successive Drivers’ Championship title in 2024, but the team slumped to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Ferrari and McLaren both expect to take more steps forward before pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain, and with Lawson replacing Perez, Verstappen will have a new and inexperienced team-mate alongside him as he looks to defend his crown.