A few days ago, we announced it to you here, the group British American Tobacco (BAT), which owned the BAR team from 1999 until it was acquired by Honda in the mid-2000s, now appears on the McLaren MCL34 via the 'A Better Tomorrow' brand, and ensured that it would not promote tobacco-related products through this deal.
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO: " AN INCREDIBLE COMPANY!«
The return of British American Tobacco comes shortly after Philip Morris, another group specializing in the tobacco industry eager to move to other markets, has increased its visual presence on Ferrari single-seaters through its project Winnow Mission, to the point that an investigation was opened in Australia.
The CEO of McLaren, Zak Brown, ensures that the partnership with BAT is not a tobacco sponsor:
« BAT is an amazing company that has a long history in motorsport« , said the American. « Our partnership is based on the technology of their new generation of products. We have no relationship with the tobacco side of their business. Their industry is transforming and is driven by technology. So we think there are areas where we can work with them and help them in their evolution towards technology.."
« It's a good company to work with. The world is evolving and changing day by day, possibly faster than it ever has. Their business has changed, evolved, and is moving towards
new areas. The world has changed from what it was, just like what was the norm 10, 15 or 20 years ago, their landscape is different and Formula 1 is a good platform for them. One thing McLaren is proud of in these partnerships is working with innovative companies, and BAT can be put into that category."
He refuted that the situation of Mission Winnow and Philip Morris, as well as the partnership between McLaren and BAT, is evidence of a trend towards a return of tobacco sponsors to F1: “ Phillip Morris has been with Ferrari for a long time and BAT has a great history in motorsport, and as they evolve towards these new destinations, they understand that McLaren could help them as a partner“, Continues Brown.
« Speaking from McLaren's perspective, we want to be associated with companies that dominate their market and are recognized“, Replied Brown, when asked why McLaren did not choose an unknown sponsor of F1 as title sponsor.
Source : Yahoo.com/
