McLaren must say goodbye to Petrobras
The drawback of partnering with companies owned by governments is that they must follow the directives of the political figures who manage them. This is what McLaren had to face with the sudden departure of Petrobras.
Ordinarily, when a sponsor decides to leave a Formula 1 team, it happens quietly, without trumpets and fanfare. This is not at all the case with Petrobras, which is leaving McLaren with immediate effect, just before its home race.
To understand this, we must go back to May when the newly elected president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, publicly attacked this partnership: « In 2018, Petrobras signed a 782 million Reais advertising contract with McLaren (Editor’s note: 170 million euros), valid for five years. At the moment, the company, by decision of my government, is looking for a way to terminate the contract. Good night to all! »
At the time, we had anticipated that it would take some time before the separation was finalized, due to the legal and economic implications involved. It seems that both parties have found the loophole by celebrating the fact that they had reached their technical and sponsorship agreement by mutual consent. The partnership has generated clear technological advances for fuels and lubricants. They have even laid the groundwork for a future relationship through Zak Brown: We wish Petrobras all the success and hope to see them again in our sport in the future.
Under these conditions, all stakeholders can emerge from this media quagmire on a positive note, congratulating themselves for ultimately having their way. It will be interesting to see who McLaren’s next technical supplier will be as the team prepares for another year of transition, retaining the Renault engine, before switching to Mercedes in 2021.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
