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Brown: McLaren brought in more sponsors than any other team in 2018

Published on 22 Aug 2018 11:53
6
By: Fergal Walsh

Zak Brown says that McLaren has met its targets for increasing income from new sponsors. For the 2018 season, Brown previously said that he would rather bring in lots of brand names rather than signing a title sponsor.

However, the American has admitted that it will face a significant shortfall in its budget for this season: "Our performance hasn’t helped,” he told RaceFans. “And especially don’t forget this year you sell last year, so last year was one of the worst years."

McLaren had a torrid 2017 season, finishing ninth in the constructor's standings. However, Brown is satisfied with his work so far, saying that the Woking-based team has brought in some top-end global brands as sponsors.

“I’ve hit what I said I would do. And then we’ve got to keep growing it. The car has got lots of space, it started with lots of space. The companies we’ve put on have been outstanding: Dell Technologies, Petrobras, being high-quality entities, and we’re keeping pushing.”

But Brown says that the deals run a lot deeper rather than just attaching a sticker to the car: “There’s a perception that goes back 10, 20 years of stickers on the cars, which is that ‘We’ll equate the size of what the sticker on the car is to what we think the money is’. That just isn’t the case these days. And certainly not for us. Because the partnerships run a lot deeper than just straightforward a logo on the car.

“If you’re measuring off outward activation, if that sponsor’s primary objectives are something like a [business-to-business] or employees’ engagement, you’re not necessarily going to see that. We don’t festoon the car with logos, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we don’t have substantive, long-term partners onboard.”

This weekend, Formula 1 returns from its summer break. The Belgian Grand Prix will host the 13th round of the season. McLaren's driver Fernando Alonso believes the weekend will be a challenge for the team, as it hopes to make gains on Force India and Haas in the constructor's standings.

F1 News Fernando Alonso McLaren Force India

Replies (6)

mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
The question is, did McLaren brought in more money than any other team? being cheap doesn't necessarily mean, the best.
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- Aug 22 2018 - 16:21
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  Had it been cheap it wouldn't have been so hard. If you go cheap you can definitely cover your car with sponsors like Force India and Renault have done in the past. I know there is almost a pathological proclivity among F1 fans to denounce everything McLaren does, but I actually think Zak Brown is doing a great job.
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  Aug 22 2018 - 17:27
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Yup, but the car still looks a bit empty compared to the other teams. Mind, I think Brown doesnt seem to do a too bad job, blabbing his mouth or not. I think he could be healthy for McLaren longterm.
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- Aug 22 2018 - 18:40
blade

Posts: 341
AJ - I agree with your assessment 100%. He's an astute chap that might yet retain Alonso's services in Indy - he deserves full support - I hope he's learned his lesson and will now start to downplay expectations, consistently and so we can all judge performance against a realistic not inflated view on prospects. You have to admit, his opinions and views are print and he compares very favourably to some of the other more bland interviews you get from some others.....c'mon Z !!!!
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- Aug 22 2018 - 18:58
Bhurt

Posts: 320
So glad he found another microphone so that he could explain how McLaren are the best. All he did here was basically tell the world how fantastic his work has been even if the rest of the team has been horrible.

Where's an alien abduction when you need it?
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- Aug 22 2018 - 20:19
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  I would commence with it. However, according to paragraph Sims 2 xbla20:42:z, Brown hasnt looked into a telescope long enough to merit an abduction. And since he weigh more than a duck, he is no witch, so we cant burn him either.
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  Aug 23 2018 - 09:18