Carlos Sainz is one of the most popular athletes in Spain, and he brought Estrella Galicia on-board to McLaren when he joined the Woking-based squad in 2019. He was with them till 2020 before making the switch to Ferrari and took the Spanish beer company along with him. Now, three years after leaving McLaren, Estrella Galicia leaves Sainz and Ferrari behind to return to the British team.
Earlier this week, McLaren announced Estrella Galicia’s return. The company’s branding and logo will feature on the car’s livery, and also on the kits of their drivers – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Matt Dennington, the team’s director of partnerships and accelerator said:
“We’re excited about the upcoming season and building on the positive momentum we had last year, and it’s fantastic to go racing with Estrella Galicia alongside us.”
Estrella Galicia became a very popular brand among F1 fans, because of Carlos Sainz’s popularity. In addition to that, they were part of Ferrari, arguably the sport’s most iconic and widely supported team. Now, the company worth $318 million has joined McLaren, a team that is seemingly on the ascendency.
Interestingly, they were linked to Aston Martin in the past because of Sainz’s compatriot Fernando Alonso. That move, however, didn’t materialize, and now Estrella Galicia will hope to join hands with McLaren as they look to make major strides.
McLaren looking to step up their game in 2024
In 2024, McLaren will be one of the teams to watch out for. They had a dismal start to the previous campaign, but their development was very strong and they ended as one of the top teams. Red Bull is very far ahead of the rest of the grid, and have dominated for the last two years. However, this gap is expected to close now.
Getting the better of Red Bull may be tough this year, not just for McLaren, but for other teams too. The likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and maybe even Aston Martin will be right up there, ready to challenge the Austrian team.
With a new partner in Estrella Galicia, McLaren will be hoping that things fall in their favor in 2024. At the very least, they will be looking to challenge for race wins.
