Airwallex Celebrates End of Formula 1 Season with ‘Podium Finish’ for Brand and Partnership Metrics

Airwallex, a leading global payments and financial platform for modern businesses, has announced the impact of its first year of partnership with the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team, to demonstrate that winning off-track is a prerequisite for winning on-track.

Since announcing the multi-year partnership in February, Airwallex has worked to promote its brand via the inclusion of the Airwallex logo prominently displayed on the halo of the McLaren MCL38, on the driver overalls of Lando Norris’ and Oscar Piastri’s, as well as across other McLaren Racing official branded material. According to a recent global brand study* this visibility has led to a 58% increase in perceived brand trust among respondents who associated Airwallex with McLaren Racing, and a 70% increase in the likelihood of considering Airwallex for payment needs.

As the 2024 Formula 1 season ends, Airwallex has also revealed how its end-to-end payment system has supported financial operations at McLaren Racing, with a number of previously time-consuming processes being replaced with bespoke payment templates that create smooth financial operations, critical to on-track success.

 As a result of the first year of the partnership, Airwallex has enabled McLaren to shave a half day per month in processing time for international payments. When operating at the pinnacle of global motorsport, every second and penny counts to achieving operational efficiency. 

Laura Bowden, Chief Financial Officer at McLaren Racing, commented; “At McLaren, speed and innovation are essential to our success both on and off the track. Like all departments at McLaren, the finance team is mandated to look for marginal gains by consistently reviewing processes and using technology to optimise our business. By constantly monitoring spend and reporting back to the business, we can find new ways to free up funds to re-invest in our on-track efforts.” 

The partnership sees Airwallex closely align its brand pillars of innovation and performance with the fast-paced nature of Formula 1, and the partnership with McLaren Formula 1 Team is the organisation’s first global sports partnership.

Jon Stona, VP of Marketing at Airwallex, added: “With over 300 brands – from fashion to cloud platforms – involved in Formula One in some capacity, the competition to stand out as a sponsor is steep. We are delighted to see ROI both in our brand lift and our impact on McLaren’s financial operations efficiency.”  

While the 2024 F1 season – the longest in sports history, comprising 24 races across 21 countries and five continents – closes, the business is already looking ahead to 2025, with a range of activations planned, from Melbourne to Singapore, Silverstone to Bahrain and Las Vegas to Austin.

Airwallex was founded in Melbourne in 2015, and today is headquartered in Singapore. The company has since grown to 23 locations globally and currently employs over 1,600 people. Recently Airwallex announced it had surpassed $100 billion in annual processing volume, up 73 percent year-on-year and achieved an annual run rate revenue surpassing $500 million across all products, including payments, FX, payouts and issuing. 

Airwallex’s partnership with the McLaren Formula 1 Team, a prominent and much-loved brand, aligns with its global ambitions to be the financial platform of choice for innovative businesses across the world.