McLaren at risk of losing fuel sponsor Petrobras
F1 News
- Jake Williams-Smith
McLaren may be set to lose fuel sponsor Petrobras after Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro called for the company to end its sponsorship of the Formula 1 team early.
"In 2018, Petrobras signed an advertising contract of R$782 million with McLaren, valid for 5 years. At the moment, the company, by decision of my government, seeks a way to terminate the contract," Bolsonaro tweeted.
The Brazilian company's partnership with the British team includes the development of lubricants and fuel for the team and a new partnership between them was announced in 2018 that would commence at the start of the new season.
Petrobras is predominantly state owned by the Brazilian government and has been partnered with McLaren since the start of the 2018 season.
“It does not make the slightest sense, it’s an absurdity. This whole amount to have the little name on the helmet," Brazil’s minister of citizenship Osmar Terra said in an interview with magazine Veja.