McLaren brings tech giant Intel back to F1 team sponsorship
McLaren has brought tech giant Intel back to Formula 1 as a team sponsor after an absence of nearly 17 years.
The new partnership will be the first time that Intel has been directly involved with a team since its tie-up with BMW-Sauber between 2006 and 2009.
Back then its deal involved it not only being a corporate partner but also the integration of its technology through the entire BMW Group. The deal ended when BMW pulled out of F1 at the end of 2009.
Prior to that, Intel had also been involved in smaller deals, which included tie-ups with both Toyota and Williams.
As part of this deal, Intel has become the official compute partner of McLaren's F1 and IndyCar teams with immediate effect.
Intel's logos will appear on the cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend, and will appear on one of its IndyCar entries at the Freedom 250 in Washington in August and at the Indianapolis 500 from next year.
Lip-Bu Tan, Intel's CEO, said the tie-up with McLaren would be beneficial for both parties.
"Formula 1 racing and IndyCar are some of the ultimate proving grounds for high-performance computing," he said.
"Together, Intel and McLaren will push the boundaries of what's possible, transforming data into competitive advantage at every turn."
Intel plans to support McLaren with its data capabilities, as well as provide extra computing power for race-weekend operations.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown added: "Intel has already been an important part of our technology ecosystem, and their leadership in computing will play a critical role in how we design, build, and race our cars. We're excited to deepen this relationship even further."
