Racing Point signs sponsorship agreement with Kenyan bookmaker SportPesa

Racing Point, the Silverstone-based outfit, owned presently by a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, has inked a two-year sponsorship deal with Kenyan betting company SportPesa. The deal is believed to be worth an annual fee of “under $15m” (£11.4m). The parties have not officially confirmed the deal yet.

The amount will be slightly less than the $15m figure that the Best Water Technology Group (BWT) paid for its partnership with the team.

For its money, BWT saw the Force India adopt a livery in 2017 and 2018 which reflected its corporate colours, and while BWT will remain with the team this season, it is claimed that the livery will be modified. It is likely to have more blue, the corporate colour of SportPesa.

SportPesa is a sports betting platform with operations in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, the Isle of Man and the UK. Pevans East Africa, a company with shareholders from mostly Kenya, Bulgaria, and the United States, founded the company in 2014 in Nairobi. The deal follows that involving Red Bull and Asian online gaming provider, W66.com, that was announced in December, which itself followed F1’s own controversial $100m partnership with Interregional Sports Group (ISG) and Sportradar to enable live betting during races.

Racing Point will unveil its 2019 livery in Toronto on February 13.