McLaren will start the Formula One season without a title sponsor but still expect to have one this year, group chief executive Ron Dennis said yesterday.
“Our cars will not feature a title sponsor at the first event,” he told reporters at the McLaren factory ahead of the season-opener in Australia next week.
“But they will definitely feature a title sponsor some time at the next few races.”
McLaren were sponsored by mobile telecoms giant Vodafone until the end of last year. They had planned to reveal a new title partner in December but the appointed day came and went without any announcement.
The team had their first season without a podium since 1980 last year, a failure that led to a management restructuring with former principal and minority shareholder Dennis reasserting himself.
Dennis, 66, said the formal title of team principal had been scrapped and would not discuss the fate of former incumbent Martin Whitmarsh, although he said they had been in touch and remained friends.
The group chief executive painted a bright financial future for the team, the second most successful in F1 history after Ferrari in terms of race wins and total titles, and compared McLaren to currently ailing Manchester United.
Premier League champions United have been off form since the retirement of Alex Ferguson at the end of last season.
“Inevitably when you have a run of poor results, people try and push the rate card down,” Dennis said of the sponsorship negotiations.
“I won’t accept that. I know what this company is and what its grand prix team can achieve.
“And that requires the correct recognition when it comes to the commercial relationship with a principal sponsor.
“We are negotiating with several partners at the moment and I think it will happen sooner rather than later.”
Dennis said money was not an issue, with the overall McLaren Group – which includes the sportscar company and applied technology division – having turnover in excess of £900 million and aiming to “sail past a billion and achieve 2.0 billion within five years.”
Applied technology, said Dennis, was showing ‘tremendous growth’ and he would be bitterly disappointed if growth was not “north of £200 million within two or three years” from a current £36 million.
McLaren are switching to Honda engines next year after racing this season with Mercedes power but Dennis said the team was not looking for a ‘stop-gap’ solution to the title sponsor vacancy.
“We’ve turned away stop-gaps,” he said.
McLaren will not feature a title sponsor at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.