LONDON: Formula 1 team McLaren Racing on Monday announced a global partnership with British American Tobacco (BAT), the world’s leading cigarette and tobacco products manufacturer based out of UK, which has been a market leader courtesy brands such as Dunhill, Rothmans and Benson and Hedges in over 50 countries.
This partnership will focus solely on BAT’s potentially reduced risk products and grounded in technology and innovation. McLaren Applied Technologies will work with BAT on areas including battery technology and advanced materials. The two companies will share best practices, innovation know-how and mutual experience.
The move marks BAT’s return to sport sponsorship, having been involved with the Tyrell team as its owner from 1997-2005 with an investment of 30 million pounds and sponsoring the Honda F1 team from 2006-2007.
In cricket, its brand featured in multi-team competitions in the 80s across Asia and Australia and was the title sponsor of the 1996 World Cup in the Indian subcontinent as it owns a minority stake in ITC, the leading Indian tobacco company that owns Wills.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said: “We welcome BAT to the McLaren team and support their ambition of delivering meaningful and lasting change through innovation. BAT’s transformation agenda is central to this partnership and we are pleased to share our technical experience and expertise in helping to accelerate this.”
BAT CMO Kingsley Wheaton added: “We’re extremely proud and excited about this new partnership, further enabling us to accelerate the pace at which we innovate and transform ourselves. It gives us a truly global platform with which to drive greater resonance of our potentially reduced risk products, including our Vype, Vuse and glo brands. Ultimately, innovation and technology will support us in creating a better tomorrow’ for our consumers worldwide.”
