McLaren Racing, the British motor racing outfit, has developed a multi-year partnership extension with the British multinational company that manufactures and sells tobacco and other nicotine products, British American Tobacco (BAT).
Following the extension, the brand will continue to remain the official principal partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team.
BAT is an internationally renowned consumer products company that has collaborated with the McLaren F1 Team since 2019. The cooperation is based on sophisticated technology, change, and innovation.
Last week, McLaren and BAT’s brand Vuse presented the next version of the ‘Driven by Change’ campaign for the Japanese Grand Prix, including a design by local artist MILTZ on the MCL38 vehicles in Suzuka. The Driven by Change initiative honours young creatives via the global motorsport platform, giving them opportunities to present their original artwork to the globe.
The initiative, which is currently in its fourth year, has supported emerging artists such as Rabab Tantawy, Anna Tangles, and Nujood Al-Otaibi, who each created artwork that was featured on McLaren race cars during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. Driven by Change is based on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are critical components of McLaren’s sustainability purpose.
BAT’s branding will continue to be featured on McLaren’s F1 racing vehicles, and as part of the extension, branding will also appear on NEOM McLaren Formula E Team race cars for the rest of the season.
Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said, “I am thrilled to announce this partnership extension with our long-standing partner BAT. Together, we will continue to champion important causes, such as DE&I, and deliver campaigns that engage and excite our global fanbase. BAT’s transformation journey is fast-paced and innovative, just like Formula 1. I am proud that we will continue our partnership into the future.”
Kingsley Wheaton, Chief Growth & Strategy Officer, BAT, said, “We are extremely proud of the partnership we’ve built with McLaren over the last five years. Our shared expertise and lessons learned has helped us to build multi-billion-dollar brands and I am excited to see where this partnership goes from here. With cutting-edge innovation capabilities, purposeful brand engagement and a programme of events and projects which exemplify our commitment to diversity and inclusion – the McLaren partnership will continue to support BAT’s transformation agenda. With McLaren as a partner, we are well placed to continue building a Smokeless World.”
For the 2024 Formula 1 season, McLaren has established collaborations with Hilton, DP World, Dropbox, Workday, Airwallex, OKX, Ecolab, Estrella Galicia 0,0, Optimum Nutrition, and Alpinestars.