McLaren is heading a four-team battle on the Formula 1 grid to secure a lucrative sponsorship deal with credit card company Mastercard, according to reports.
SportBusiness write that the Woking-based squad is in a tussle with Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin as those who will fight it out for Mastercard’s signature.
The report states there will be a “sponsorship showdown” to secure a “huge cash injection”, with McLaren in pole position to attain what could be a title partnership.
Ferrari brokered a major commercial title partnership with HP last week in a deal alleged to be on par with the long-term arrangement Red Bull retains with Oracle.
“We are constantly exploring how new opportunities could complement the value delivered to our customers and cardholders,” Mastercard told SportBusiness.
But a spokesperson added there was “nothing new to share at this time”, as rumours gather that Williams could be left as the single F1 team without a title sponsor.
Fans of F1 minnows will recall the il-fated title partnership Mastercard held with British chassis manufacturer Lola in the 1997 season.
Team Principal Eric Broadley intended for his Lola outfit to debut in F1 for the 1998 season, but with Mastercard rival HSBC entering the F1 commercial space with Stewart Grand Prix in ’97, Lola was forced to accelerate its plans.
The result was an underprepared effort that failed to qualify for the season-opening 1997 Australian Grand Prix.
This was a major issue for Mastercard as the brand had set up an exclusive F1 club for members to receive numerous benefits such as newsletters and Lola team merchandise.
However, with the Lola cars woefully uncompetitive, consumers had little incentive to effectively buy into a team they couldn’t watch on race day.
To mitigate further embarrassment, Mastercard pulled out before the next round and the Lola F1 story was no more.
In the present day, an F1 title sponsorship is an altogether different proposition for Mastercard.
The teams are reportedly valued at over £1 billion and carefully managed cost-cap and wind tunnel testing regulations have helped balance the field.
Meanwhile McLaren, under the stewardship of CEO Zak Brown, has become a marketing powerhouse, boasting one of the largest portfolios of commercial partners on the F1 grid.
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