Vodafone has extended and expanded its US$75 million per year title sponsorship of the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team until the end of 2013.
Under the terms of the new contract, announced on the eve of the inaugural Korean Grand Prix in Mokpo, the team will continue to be known as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes while Vodafone will now be ‘total communications partner’ of the team. Formerly it was the team’s ‘mobile partner’.
No financial details were released by either Vodafone or McLaren, but it is believed the deal is on the same lines as the previous title sponsorship agreement, which began in 2007. That deal, announced in December 2005, saw Vodafone switch its partnership to the British team from Ferrari, which the company had sponsored since 2002 when it made its entry into Formula One.
In a statement the team said the aims of the new deal were to ‘bring Vodafone customers closer to the passion of Formula One through its services, events and experiences’ and to ‘help support the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team’s on-track success through greater technical integration of Vodafone’s total communications services.’
Morten Lundal, Vodafone Group’s chief commercial officer, said of the renewal: “We’ve had great success in using the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes partnership to engage our customers in our key markets, and we’re committed to new and exciting platforms which will allow customers to get even closer to the action.”
McLaren Group executive chairman Ron Dennis, who has stepped away from day-to-day management of the Formula One team during the course of the Vodafone partnership, was equally enthused by the contract extension: “The success that the team has enjoyed since our two companies’ partnership began in 2007 has been prodigious. Of the 68 Grands Prix that have been staged during our partnership, our drivers have scored 21 wins and 55 podium finishes.”
Vodafone’s first year partnering the team in 2007 was marred by the espionage scandal that eventually saw McLaren fined US$100 million by the sport’s governing body, the FIA, and by the bitter rivalry between drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. A year later, however, saw Hamilton claim the world championship after a dramatic conclusion to the final race of the season in Brazil. This weekend’s Korean race sees Hamilton and reigning world champion Jenson Button battling to remain in contention for this season’s title; off the track Vodafone has taken advantage of the all-British line-up in the team, most notably in a series of widely acclaimed viral videos.
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren’s team principal, added: “Vodafone is without doubt the best title partner that we at McLaren have ever had. Why do I say that? Well the word ‘partner’ says it all. Vodafone is our partner in a very genuine sense of that word – a very real contributor to an ever-evolving series of high-tech innovations on our cars and within our operating systems. That’s why I know I speak on behalf of all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes when I say how delighted I am that our two companies have agreed not only to renew our partnership but also to relaunch it.”
Source: SportsPro
