Chelsea Agree Unique Partnership with Sauber F1

Chelsea Football Club and the Sauber F1 team have announced a revolutionary partnership  bringing together two of global sport’s biggest names.

The unique partnership forges a relationship between two internationally successful teams with fantastic heritage who share the same excitement and passion for performance, bringing unique content and experiences to football and F1 fans.

Sauber’s excellent start to the season culminating in driver Segio Perez gaining a second place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, leaving the team currently lieing in sixth in the constructors championship, would have raised Sauber’s stock and made them more marketable for a partnership of this magnitude.

While Chelsea after a poor start to the season are vying to win the Champions League and FA Cup.

The official partnership launch will take place at the Spanish Grand Prix next week. From then, the Champions League finalists’ crest will proudly be displayed on the cars of drivers Kamui Kobayashi, of Japan, and Mexico’s Sergio Perez.

The Premier League and Formula 1 are the most watched sports around the globe and with 20 F1 races in 2012 spread right across the world, the excitement of F1 is set to reach almost half of the planet’s population, ensuring Chelsea’s exposure to many more than the already record worldwide numbers tuning in to watch Premier League action.

The new partnership is focused on ways to enhance sporting and business performance. This includes the exchange of knowledge in sport science, launching joint commercial initiatives, merchandising, events, marketing and linked sponsorship opportunities.

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said: “This is an innovative partnership that will see a football club link up with an F1 team like never before, bringing together two of the world’s biggest sports and uniting our fans.

“We felt that this Swiss team, the fourth oldest of the existing teams, reflects our own ideals perfectly.

“In a year when Chelsea celebrates 20 seasons as a Premier League team, Sauber does so as an F1 team. We share many philosophies when it comes to how the respective organisations are run, from the development of young talent to constantly striving for success. Their philosophy towards grassroots development has produced some of the best drivers in F1, which mirrors our dedication to develop promising young football talent through our Academy.

“This partnership will benefit us both greatly, with the potential to create unique commercial opportunities. It is a shared vision to unite the two most attractive sports in the world.

“We look forward to working closely with the Sauber F1 Team and wish them the very best of luck for the remainder of the Formula 1 season.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, CEO of the Sauber F1 Team, added: “A partnership like this between Formula 1 and football has never existed before in this form, yet there are numerous commonalities and possible synergies. In either case we are talking about team sport at the highest – and international – level. The Sauber F1 Team and Chelsea FC are dealing with many of the same sporting and commercial topics and we want to strengthen each other in these areas.”

by Ismail Uddin

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