In a recent interview, McLaren CEO Zak Brown mentioned that attracting sponsors to Formula 1 is “as hard as it’s ever been”, with corporations skeptic about identifying the sport worthy of their investment.
The British team is the second most successful in F1’s history but has not win since the 2012 season finale or stood on the podium since the 2014 season opener. The team’s state of affairs on the commercial front has suffered, not having a title sponsor since its partnership with Vodafone ended at the end of 2013.
But despite another lacklustre performance in the 2018 season, finishing sixth in the constructer’s standings, the team has bagged two more sponsors and expects to announce their partnership shortly before the start of the 2019 season.
As a marketing expert who secured many deals for others before he joined the Woking-based outfit, Zak Brown’s arrival at McLaren raised the outfit’s commercial prospects.
Speaking of McLaren’s difficulty in attracting new sponsors, he said: “Corporations are a bit nervous to invest long term because they are not quite sure if something happens over here what does that mean.”
“It does put everything into a bit of a slowdown and holding pattern.”
But the uncertainty has not stopped the British team from getting new sponsors and said the team will be announcing at least two new sponsors soon.
“We were fortunate to bring on about five new partners last year, and we’ll announce another at least two this month that we’ve signed so we are making good progress,” he said.
“It certainly hasn’t come to a stop, but it’s slowed things down and some of the craziness that’s going on around the world doesn’t help.”
The new sponsorship deals could provide a bright start to a potentially resurgent season for one of F1’s most successful teams, and could see them fighting with the current giants at the helm of the sport.
