The headliners: Big benefits for big sponsors

The huge cost of running a Formula One team each year, from paying more than 400 employees to getting the cars to 16 race tracks in 15 different countries (there are two races in Germany), means that only big-money sponsors can afford what is known as title sponsorship. This effectively means that the team’s title can change to the name of a sponsor. So, with title sponsorship, the current McLaren team is officially known as West McLaren Mercedes. As well as changing the title of the team, a big sponsor will get its logos and name on the most prominent parts of the car. These are the front and rear wings, the sidepods, and the engine cover.
Of course, being a title sponsor does not just mean that you give the team your stickers and make sure that they put them on the car. Major sponsors also get the following perks:

_ They’re given VIP treatment at the track, so that staff and clients can be entertained against the backdrop of a glamorous sporting event. _ They’re allowed to use the team drivers for special promotional appearances – whether to meet the press at events or even just to sign autographs at a company’s office or factory. This is a great chance for a sponsor to boost her company’s morale. Question-and-answer sessions and opportunities for clients and employees to have their photo taken alongside a famous driver will take place on a promotional visit. Some drivers find these promotional visits more daunting than actually fighting it out on the track at 200 mph!

Such deals don’t not come cheap, however. Teams often demand more than £40 million per season for the privilege. Despite the huge cost, sponsors still believe that they get excellent value for money. Most major title sponsors at the moment are tobacco companies who find that Formula One is the perfect platform to advertise their goods worldwide. Marlboro, West, Benson & Hedges, Lucky Strike, and Mild Seven are the main cigarette brands that fight it out for coverage on the track. But in recent years, a growing brand of non-tobacco companies have been able to afford title sponsorship with the teams. The Japanese electronics company Panasonic has backed the Toyota Formula One team, while the small Italian team Minardi was supported by the Malaysian government in 2002 (as it helped the country’s “Go KL” campaign to boost tourism to Kuala Lumpur). If the price is right, Formula One teams will be happy to support anything. So start saving up now!

There has also been a trend in recent years for car manufacturers to buy teams themselves, or even become sponsors. German car maker BMW supplies engines to the Williams team and also pays to be a title sponsor so that the team is called the BMW.WilliamsF1 team, rather than Williams-BMW. The Jaguar, Renault, and Toyota teams are all owned by their parent car companies, while Mercedes-Benz owns 40 per cent of the McLaren team. Perhaps the most famous example of a sponsor supporting a team was when Italian clothing company Benetton bought its own outfit (so to speak). It purchased the Toleman team at the end of 1984, and the team became officially known as the Benetton Formula 1 Team. Although making good clothes may have nothing to do with making a racing car go fast, the team won two world drivers’ championships with Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995, before it was sold to Renault in 1999.