ExxonMobil Extend Record Partnership with McLaren F1

Formula One racing team McLaren has extended its long-standing partnership with ExxonMobil for another five years after a deal was announced yesterday, anesthetist February 10, just over a month before the start of the 2011 season.

The deal represents the 17th year of partnership between the company and team – a record for a team and an oil company in Formula One.

Financial details were not fully disclosed but based on previous partnerships between the two the deal is likely to have a value, once the many elements are taken into account, of at least US$35 million a year.

As well as continuing to supply fuel to the team, through its Mobil 1 brand, ExxonMobil will continue to play an active part in developing new solutions and what the team described as ‘next-generation lubricants for the engine and gearbox’. It also supplies a range of lubricants and greases in the McLaren Technology Centre, the team’s Woking base in the United Kingdom, and products for use in the team’s transporters.

In a change to the previous contracts between the two, there will be an increasing focus on business to consumer activation with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the team’s drivers, thought likely to star in advertising campaigns as they do for another of the team’s sponsors Santander. Previously ExxonMobil has activated its sponsorship to a business to business audience.

Vice president of global marketing for ExxonMobil Lubricants and Petroleum Specialties Company, Nigel Searle stated: “We view the technology partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes as a high-return investment that helps drive the global growth of the Mobil 1 franchise, and we look forward to continuing our successful collaboration.”

Ron Dennis, the executive chairman of the McLaren Group, said the extension reflected the team’s loyalty to key partners, adding: “The success and longevity of these relationships send a clear message that working with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes offers a consistently impressive return on investment, not only in terms of the marketing value of our success on track, witnessed by hundreds millions of people worldwide, but also in terms of measurable results from the targeted B2B and B2C campaigns we orchestrate in close collaboration with our partners.”