Formula One Files Web3 Trademarks For Its Las Vegas Circuit

Licensed trademark attorney Michael Kondoudis shared the trademark news on Twitter, stating that the “LAS VEGAS STRIP CIRCUIT” filings claim F1’s plans for “NFTs, cryptocurrencies, insurance, financial services, virtual clothing, sports gear, currency trading, and virtual currency services, among others.“

F1 was previously involved with Web3 and NFTs, but mainly at arms length. In March 2019, F1 licensed its brand to blockchain game developer Animoca Brands, which went on to produce one of the first blockchain games to integrate NFTs: F1 Delta Time. After Animoca ran several F1 Delta Time NFT auctions and tweeted the game’s roadmap in mid-2019, the game itself (which was based on the REVV utility token from Animoca subsidiary REVV Motorsport) launched in December 2020. Two years later in April 2022, Animoca’s license to the F1 brand expired, the game was discontinued, and the value of its NFTs (some of which sold on the primary market for as much as US$265,000) ended up plummeting to worthlessness.

Additionally, many of the individual F1 teams including Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Red Bull and others have undertaken their own NFT initiatives and virtually all of the teams have been involved in one way or another with crypto companies for sponsorships. But this appears to be the first time F1 itself is taking a firsthand plunge into Web3, NFTs, and the metaverse.