As Formula One (F1) fans are getting ready for this weekend’s upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, which runs from August 25 to 27, race attendees will now have the ability to claim a digital collectible directly from their Dutch Grand Prix (Dutch GP) app throughout the course of the race weekend, according to a press release shared with nft now.
This digital collectible will update in real-time with elements that represent part of the Zandvoort racetrack, in addition to a beautiful ‘Trackside Treasure’ design with visual elements that showcase the uniqueness of this weekend’s upcoming race.
With an anticipated attendance of 100,000+ fans and ticket holders during the Dutch Grand Prix, F1 appears to be gauging ticket holders’ interest in interacting with Web3, without them necessarily knowing they are interacting with a new technology, thanks to ticketing firm GET Protocol.
How It Works
What makes these digital collectibles different from the many other drops we’ve seen which force users to get more technical than they want to or understand is:
This, in effect, allows for each attendee to take home one of the many sections of the track – from the famous ‘Tarzan Corner’ to the strikingly fast Hunse Ridge.
For race attendees, all they have to do is purchase their race ticket through CM.com and then claim their digital collectible in the Dutch GP app, which they should already be familiar with.
Once they log into the app, their collectible will automatically appear in their user profile – and that’s it.
And it’s all done through the native Dutch GP app that ticket holders are already familiar with and comfortable using – common sense that others should have been following previously in the many futile attempts to “onboard” the average person into Web3.
No technical expertise needed. No knowledge of what ‘Web3’ means or what an ‘NFT’ is. Just attend, log in, and enjoy the race.
The Web3 Strategy
For those who are fairly familiar with the evolution of Web3’s innovations, the behind-the-scenes magic is done through the creation of a ‘custodial wallet’ for every single race attendee. Instead of the user having to manually create or enter their own wallet address, GET Protocol generates a unique collectible on the spot, which is then immediately issued and tied to that attendee’s race ticket.
The ticket provider and event-related application (CM.com) just link their own user ID to the created wallet, which allows for full exploration into sending and receiving digital assets all the way through the token-gated activations setup by the event organizer.
To maximize F1 fans’ experience before, during, and after the race weekend, the distribution strategy consists of:
Other F1 Web3-powered initiatives
While this isn’t F1’s first experience in the digital collectibles space, this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix does serve as the international organization’s largest offering of digital collectibles to date – directly to token holders in attendance of an event.
In 2021, Crypto.com became the first official crypto sponsor of F1 in a reported $100 million deal. The company then became an official title partner for F1’s Miami Grand Prix in February 2022 for the next nine years.
McLaren Racing & OKX
In May 2022, McLaren Racing partnered with crypto exchange OKX in a multi-year deal that is reportedly worth “hundreds of millions” of dollars, according to a Blockworks report.
F1’s Crypto Trademarks
Later in 2022, F1 filed a series of crypto-related trademarks for its F1 abbreviation that hints at further Web3 strategies, as we’ve started to see.
Williams Racing
Earlier this month, British F1 team Williams Racing partnered with crypto exchange Kraken that allowed race attendees to submit and vote for a selected list of NFTs that would be displayed on the race cars during the U.S. Grand Prix in October.
F1’s Platinium Group
In May, F1’s primary ticket provider, Platinium Group, partnered with Elemint to issue NFT race tickets on Polygon to attendees of The Monaco Grand Prix.
Oracle Red Bull Racing
In June, Oracle Red Bull Racing, home of fan-favorite driver Max Verstappen, partnered with Web3 infrastructure firm Mysten Labs in a multi-year deal to begin creating new “immersive experiences” for F1 fans and teams.
As for F1’s latest delve into Web3 ahead of the Dutch GP, Verheij says that this launch is part of its “overall approach in tapping into the new world of fan experiences…[w]e love to interact with our fans and with these collectibles we are giving them something extra as a reminder of a fantastic race festival experience.”
Source: nft now
