McLaren Racing announced an enhanced deal with British American Tobacco (BAT) for 2020 F1 season as it becomes its principal partner.
Having signed a multi-year deal with BAT ahead of the 2019 F1 season, McLaren has announced an enhanced partnership with the company for 2020 as it becomes the team’s principal partner, with several changes to its original deal.
The enhanced deal includes an association with McLaren’s IndyCar effort too:
- Significantly increased branding positions on the F1 car – including highly visible new sidepod branding, inside halo and front wing branding positions
- A commitment for the two companies to co-create marketing content to drive increased awareness of the partnership
- Partnering with McLaren for its return to the full-time IndyCar competition in 2020, which will see 17 races take place across the US
- A continued commitment for BAT and McLaren Applied Technologies to work together on developing innovation with application in BAT’s New Category portfolio
The deal in 2019 came under scanner due to it being a cigarette brand, as McLaren were not allowed to use ‘BAT’ on its F1 car for several rounds in the season, which was similar to Ferrari not being able to use ‘Mission Winnow’.
Kingsley Wheaton, BAT’s Chief Marketing Officer said: “We’re extremely proud of our partnership with McLaren which has been going from strength-to-strength this season – whether it’s increased awareness of our portfolio of New Category products, technology insights and expertise to support our R&D activities or using the platform to create excitement amongst colleagues internally, we are absolutely delighted with what our partnership has delivered in 2019.
“The McLaren team are fantastic to work with and it’s great to see the team performing on the track. Our partnership is giving us a truly global marketing and innovation platform to accelerate our journey with our New Categories business, focused on creating a better tomorrow for our consumers, shareholders, society and employees.
“I am particularly excited about our plans to partner with McLaren for their return to the IndyCar series, after a 40-year break, next year. The 17-race calendar aligns very well with our geographical footprint and business priorities.”
And Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing added: “We’re pleased to announce our enhanced partnership with BAT after a successful first season together. BAT’s transformation agenda remains central to this partnership, as does a shared focus on technology and innovation and we look forward to continuing our work together from 2020 and beyond. As we reach the end of the 2019 season, we thank BAT for its continued support.”
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