In 2007, Chinese electronics producer Lenovo was looking at a potential entry into F1 via sponsoring a team. Lenovo’s then-CMO Deepak Advani brought Zak Brown to help his company gain a foothold in the racing industry. With McLaren and Williams identified as their primary targets for a $100,000,000 investment over three years, Lenovo began the chase. However, Ron Dennis and Co’s uncaring behavior towards potential sponsors led to Williams edging McLaren out. Hence, Brown learned an important lesson 11 years before taking charge of the Woking-based company.
During the time, Lenovo seemed to be best suited to McLaren out of all other F1 teams. They had a world champion driver in Fernando Alonso and an arsenal of sponsors that would have made Lenovo feel secure. All of this translated to a comfortable sponsorship signing in the minds of Lenovo’s top brass.
However, the absence of Ron Dennis, the then-team principal or Managing Director Ekrem Sami, led to Advani and Brown feeling embarrassed, as reported by BusinessF1 magazine.
Zak Brown learned one of life’s most important lessons during the McLaren sponsorship deal
On the day McLaren and Lenovo representatives were supposed to meet, the unfolding of events was far from satisfactory for the investors. Upon reaching the McLaren headquarters, Advani and Brown learned none of the top four men at McLaren were available. Instead, they sent a junior executive and a freelancer, whom they had hired for the day. Understandably, the two men from Lenovo felt humiliated about this.
McLaren Racing could have been a very different team today, if it weren’t for the lack of seriousness by the company’s top names back in the day.
Courtesy- BusinessF1 Magazine pic.twitter.com/BeAOsf2pHB
— Clarke (@ClarkeF1Racing) August 7, 2023
Contrary to their expectations, Advani and Brown were greeted warmly once they reached Williams’ HQ. The duo was warmly welcomed by Sir Frank Williams (Team Principal), Scott Garrett (Marketing Head), and Christian Vine (Sponsorship Sales Head).
Vine gave a convincing presentation to Lenovo, speaking precisely what they wanted to hear. It was so good that Brown called it the best presentation he had ever seen from an F1 team. Now CEO of McLaren himself, Zak Brown remembers this incident as his most significant business lesson.
Brown ends McLaren’s financial woes
In 2018 Brown took charge as CEO of McLaren Racing as part of an operational restructuring of the group. Of late, reports emerged that McLaren was looking to sell a minority stake in the company to raise capital. The Woking-based company had even begun the legal proceedings necessary for the same. However, Zak Brown has since revealed they have found a solution to their financial woes. He anticipates a strong future for the team.
Today, McLaren F1 team stands as one of the most marketable teams in sport. They have the most number of sponsors among all the teams in F1. This includes big names like Google, British American Tobacco, Dell, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Richard Mille, Hilton, CNBC, Deloitte, Logitech, etc.
With so many big-name sponsors in their lineup, the Woking-based outfit has certainly moved past its habit of treat sponsors disrespectfully.
