Petronas retract all F1 involvement
Petronas, Malaysian-owned oil and gas company and former sponsor of the Sauber and BMW teams, has revealed that it will not be associated with any Formula 1 team during the 2010 season. The brand will remain in the sport, however, as title sponsor for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
With Petronas having continued to sponsor BMW after the German car manufacturer bought the Sauber team ahead of the 2006 championship, the company founded in 1974 has now said that it will no longer be linked with the team or indeed any other in the sport.
Petronas started F1 as a branding programme but we have since moved into the business," explained company Chairman and President Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican. "We had a very good relationship with Sauber, which exposed our brand and gave us the opportunity to go global with our lubricants.
"It was also timely, when BMW took over Sauber, and that gave us an opportunity to partner with an original equipment manufacturer. The years we were together with BMW and Sauber, we benefited from the lubricant business; for next year, we have no team and the only reason for us to go back into Formula 1 is on a business deal for the lubricant business."
The news is likely to be received as negative by the Lotus team which, now Malaysian-owned, could have viewed the company as a possible associate. The Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, which next season hosts Round 3 of the campaign for the first time, will be taking place on Sunday 4 April.
Source: gpupdate.net
Image source: zerotohundred.com
Petronas, Malaysian-owned oil and gas company and former sponsor of the Sauber and BMW teams, has revealed that it will not be associated with any Formula 1 team during the 2010 season. The brand will remain in the sport, however, as title sponsor for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
With Petronas having continued to sponsor BMW after the German car manufacturer bought the Sauber team ahead of the 2006 championship, the company founded in 1974 has now said that it will no longer be linked with the team or indeed any other in the sport.
Petronas started F1 as a branding programme but we have since moved into the business," explained company Chairman and President Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican. "We had a very good relationship with Sauber, which exposed our brand and gave us the opportunity to go global with our lubricants.
"It was also timely, when BMW took over Sauber, and that gave us an opportunity to partner with an original equipment manufacturer. The years we were together with BMW and Sauber, we benefited from the lubricant business; for next year, we have no team and the only reason for us to go back into Formula 1 is on a business deal for the lubricant business."
The news is likely to be received as negative by the Lotus team which, now Malaysian-owned, could have viewed the company as a possible associate. The Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, which next season hosts Round 3 of the campaign for the first time, will be taking place on Sunday 4 April.
Source: gpupdate.net
Image source: zerotohundred.com
