Breaking news
Formula 1
Vodafone quit McLaren over Bahrain issue - report
Bahrain GP wasn't a reason, but the Vodafone brand has "less need for this kind of exposure in future"
GMM
Edited: Mar 15, 2013, 12:28 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Mar.15 (GMM) McLaren has reportedly played down reports title sponsor Vodafone is pulling out of Formula One due to the controversial Bahrain Grand Prix.
A day after the British team confirmed that its title sponsor since 2007 will pull out at the end of the year, The Times newspaper said Vodafone made its decision "after conducting a review of the deal on the back of last year's Bahrain Grand Prix".
Bahrain, also a McLaren co-owner through the state-owned Mumtalakat Holding Company, has been a controversial race on the F1 calendar in the wake of the Kingdom's reaction to the Arab Spring uprising.
Vodafone's chief commercial officer Morten Lundal insists the decision to quit is simply because the brand has "less need for this kind of exposure in future".
But The Times claims Vodafone "has been reconsidering its involvement with Formula One" since Grands Prix have been going ahead "despite a violent uprising in (Bahrain) in which thousands of anti-government protesters confronted police".
The report continued: "Corporate sponsors such as Vodafone pulled their hospitality plans but could do little to press for the removal of their branding from the cars because of the structure of sponsorship deals.
McLaren MP4-28 rear wing and rear suspension
Photo by: XPB Images
"Vodafone was particularly sensitive to events during the Arab Spring after it was forced by armed forces to shut down its network in Egypt in January 2011 and send out a text message on behalf of the Mubarak government to 'confront the traitors and criminals'."
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's Telmex company is the favourite to replace Vodafone at McLaren next year, but The Times said new F1 sponsors Rolex and Emirates are also in the running.
"It's not cut and dried," said a team source.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Five teams could win in Melbourne - Lauda
Next article Vettel dominates Friday practice for the Australian GP season opener
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
GMM
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Formula 1
Formula 1
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
More from
McLaren
Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management
McLaren’s 2027-spec front wing is making its F1 car more predictable
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
23 h
McLaren’s 2027-spec front wing is making its F1 car more predictable
Latest news
Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
17 min
Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff
Winners and losers from MotoGP’s contentious Qatar Grand Prix
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
40 min
Winners and losers from MotoGP’s contentious Qatar Grand Prix
Who slept worst last night: Fernando Alonso
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
Who slept worst last night: Fernando Alonso
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe