Russian Helicopters joins Vitaly Petrov at Caterham
Just after its agreement with the aerospace firm Rockwell Collins, Caterham has just forged a new agreement with a company in the same sector, Russian Helicopters.
However, this new agreement does not have the same objective at all as the one made with the American company. Indeed, while Rockwell Collins will provide its technology to the Anglo-Malaysian team, Russian Helicopters will only be one sponsor among others.
If the nationality of Oboronprom’s subsidiary is beyond doubt, its connection to the new Caterham driver could be made more evident when reading the name of its general manager: it is, indeed, Dmitry Petrov! However, the two men are not related. This suggests the involvement of the Russian government, where Vladimir Putin has always been a steadfast supporter of the driver. The driver had even sent him his trophy for his third place at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.
The business leader thus declares: Russian Helicopters is delighted to announce the launch of our partnership program with Vitaly Petrov’s Caterham F1 Team. It is important for Russian companies to support projects that positively increase interest in Russia and as Russian Helicopters is a global high-tech company, it is a natural step for us to support Vitaly, as a Russian driver for Caterham F1 Team, in his role in a high-tech sport that is extremely popular worldwide. Our helicopters are marketed everywhere, and I am sure that our involvement in Formula 1, a popular sport all over the world and at the pinnacle of modern technology, will help us strengthen the international image of Russian Helicopters while supporting the growth of investments in the Russian economy.
Until now, the arrival of the Russian driver had only brought about the involvement of the petrochemical company Sibur, while Tony Fernandes was supposed to have much higher commercial hopes with the prospect of the Russian Grand Prix in 2014.
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
