McLaren’s Ron Dennis insists the team will have a title sponsor for the 2014 season, but it won’t appear until after the first few races.
The Woking outfit split with long-term sponsor Vodafone which had been paying around £60 million per season for the honour. That funding gap has been plugged by future engine supplier Honda for now.
Dennis, who re-took control of the team in January, confirmed that there will be no title sponsor for the opening races, but fully expects the MP4-29 to feature one soon.
“Our cars will not feature a title sponsor at the first event,” Dennis said during a briefing with the media on Thursday. “But it will definitely feature a title sponsor in the next few events. Why? Because I strongly believe we are [the] Manchester United [of F1].”
He said he wouldn’t accept a cheaper deal simply because of their poor form throughout 2013.
“Inevitably, when you have a run of poor results people push the rate card down. But I won’t accept that. I know what this company is. I know what this Grand Prix team can achieve and that requires the correct recognition when it comes to the commercial relationship with the principal sponsor.”
It’s widely believed the team are still negotiating with electronics giant Sony and its Playstation brand.
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