Wow.... I find this shocking. McLaren will race without title sponsor | Planet F1 | Formula One | News, Standings, Results, Features, Video McLaren will be without a title sponsor when this season gets underway at Albert Park later this month, revealed Ron Dennis. Just hours after Williams confirmed they had secured Martini as their new title sponsor for the 2014 Championship and beyond, Dennis stated that McLaren would be without. The Woking team parted ways with mobile telecom company Vodafone at the end of last season and have yet to secure a new backer. "Our cars will not feature a title sponsor at the first event," he told reporters at McLaren's HQ. "But they will definitely feature a title sponsor some time at the next few races." Dennis, the McLaren Group CEO, added that the team's poor form in 2013, which saw them end the season without a single top three result, has made the negotiations with potential sponsors a bit more difficult. "Inevitably when you have a run of poor results, people try and push the rate card down," he said. "I won't accept that. I know what this company is and what it's grand prix team can achieve. And that requires the correct recognition when it comes to the commercial relationship with a principal sponsor. "We are negotiating with several partners at the moment and I think it will happen sooner rather than later."
I read that also. I don't take it as that McLaren can't get a sponsor, it's that they want the rate card valued at the maximum rates that Ferrari and Red Bull would be asking, even though they finished back in the pack last year. Rather than accept a lower rate from a title sponsor, Dennis is saying that McLaren still deserves the premium rates for a title sponsor, and he intends to prove it in the first few races so that the potential title sponsors will agree on the higher rates.
Every race they race without a sponsor is money out the door that will never come back. The only thing he could be banking on is improved results in the first few races to close a major deal at "Ferrari-like" rates. That's very risky. Anything can happen in a race even if you have a good car. Still, for McLaren to be in this situation is pretty bad. I wonder when the last time they entered a season without a signed sponsor was.
Don´t suffer for McLaren´s fate, they said some weeks ago that their budget for 2014 is higher than in 2013 even without sponsors. Of course they´ll run out of reserves if they don´t find one for 2015, but I doubt that´s going to happen, and even then, they still will have Honda´s money.
In addition to the valuation aspect Ron said in another interview that it wasn't that they could not find a title sponsor - they have considered several offers - but he was looking for a longer term strategic sponsorship. If they were desperate for the funds they would have a title sponsor on the car already. >8^) ER
Honda is already funding them for this year but McLaren staff is forced to abandon the garage when Mercedes has to fix their engines.
Or just paying cash to mechanics for the info - Not that I'm saying it's so but one can't help wondering about it
It's not they can't get a sponsor, but rather how much are they selling the spaces available. Since this is a title sponsor, it will definitely take time to find, as the amount required is nothing less than 20 mil euros.
The sponsor market has caught up with them; one title in the past 15 years does now warrant the money that Ron expects. Shiny motorhomes & cars do not equate to a global name waiting to take Vodafone's place...the Vodafone departure was announced a year in advance; McLaren should have a partner ready to take their place, but how the mighty have fallen. Over the winter they were competing with Lotus for a title sponsor (still in limbo), the first few races will obviously determine a lot. Interesting that Ron says 'we will win races this year'; I Remember when anything less than a title was considered a failure....lol...funny how the mclaren faithful criticize Ferrari at every chance, yet they have continued to maintain their sponsorship and profitability.... Roll on 2014 Kevin
Good points, but i'm sure Mclaren do have spare change Yes, they knew about the departure of Vodafone, but I believe they could not get the right sponsors. They're still awaiting the best deal i suppose, and in the meantime, they probably have the budget to run the team for this season too.
Ron Dennis says McLaren is in negotiations with several companies about title sponsorship this year and is confident a deal will be made at some point over the next few races. Vodafone's seven-year deal with McLaren came to an end in 2013 and the team had originally planned to announce a replacement last December. However, a deal has yet to be finalised and the car will remain without major branding at the opening race of the season. Dennis said one reason the team has not reached an agreement with a prospective sponsor is that he is not willing to sell the space on the car for a knock-down rate following McLaren's disappointing season in 2013. "Our cars will not feature a title sponsor at the first event, but it will definitely feature a title sponsor at some time in the next few races," Dennis said. "Why? Because I strongly believe we are [like] Manchester United, and inevitably when you have a run of poor results people try to push the rate card down and I won't accept that. I know what this company is and 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." Despite the absence of a title sponsor, Dennis said McLaren has the biggest budget in the team's history this year. "We are negotiating with several companies at the moment, and I am optimistic it will happen sooner rather than later. Part of being the size that we are, money isn't an issue. The racing team doesn't have to worry about income and has the biggest budget that it's had in the history of the company." I'm just not happy be put Manchester United in the same sentence with Mclaren.
Right.... And 5 months ago Ron said any talk of him coming back to the F1 team and getting rid of Whitemarsh was "ridiculous".
While I agree that they have slipped and that makes things more difficult while negotiating, it's also a matter of how desperately they need the money. They're going into this season with the largest operating budget in the history of the team without title sponsor signed yet. Ron seems to have confidence in this car and can afford to push for the right deal.
Maybe 5 months ago it was ridiculous, or maybe he preferred to only confirm this information after the fact. As the non-executive chairman would it have been appropriate to confirm the impending sack of your CEO who had been with the company for 20 years well in advance of it actually happening? Where's the logic in that? There is logic in the fact that plenty of companies have interest in being associated with Formula One, and discounting last year's performance, McLaren is still considered a top team in the sport. Everything is not as dire as you would perhaps like it to be. >8^) ER
Similar things happen to top teams/drivers in NASCAR. They won't have a main sponsor for a full season. Simple math - a few races at top pay is more $$$ than a full season sponsor at every race for a greatly reduced rate.
I agree with you mostly But IMO the sponsorship value today is a lot less than Ron's fantasy amount. They cut the deal with Vodafone in 2007 just before the big crash. Today's environment I doubt of anybody is offering much more than half of the original
It took him one month to go from "the press are idiots" while they were all saying he was trying to get back until he announced he was coming back. Right....
Yah but... this is McLaren, not some race shop in North Carolina. Indy racing has the same problem too. You can get a sponsor for the Indy championship but a full year deal is tough.
I think you have it exactly right. This is called either "putting your money where your mouth is" or "shooting yourself in the foot". Time will tell.
