McLaren: “A main sponsor is not essential”

McLaren has reiterated that it will not lower its sponsorship prices and will still race without a main sponsor if necessary. Since the departure of Vodafone at the end of 2013, McLaren has been looking for a new partner. An announcement was initially expected for the end of 2013 but throughout 2014 the team raced without a real main sponsor, giving more space to its historical partners (Mobil and Esso, Johnny Walker, etc.).

To those who asked him when the new sponsor will be announced, racing director Eric Boullier replied: “People want to know the dates, for us it is not necessary. It might seem arrogant but I promise you it's not like that, we can afford to move forward without a main sponsor: it's a privilege. We want it because it's another step and we want to move forward with many projects that we would like to do but, to be honest, today, we can afford to run without it. I'm not saying I don't want one, we want one and we still have some things to do. We will have the right one at the right time. We don't want to do like the other teams, let's say, and sell out."

According to Boullier, the arrival of Honda as an engine supplier will be a further attraction: “It is because the people who do the due diligence know how serious McLaren is and how serious Honda is. Everyone knows that there will be sufficient resources and everything is in place to be successful.”