DECEMBER 8, 2008

Lenovo to McLaren

We hear that Lenovo will announce tomorrow that it is to sponsor the McLaren team next year. The company has been involved with Williams in recent years, but decided not to continue the arrangement.

We hear that Lenovo will announce tomorrow that it is to sponsor the McLaren team next year. The company has been involved with Williams in recent years, but decided not to continue the arrangement. McLaren is not offering on-car sponsorship as was the case at Williams but the Lenovo marketing men seem to have decided that a sponsorship with McLaren plus trackside advertising will bring better returns on the F1 investment.

Lenovo is the third biggest computer manufacturer in the world, following its 2005 acquisition of IBM's PC Division. Originally set up in Beijing, the company moved headquarters to Hong Kong in 1988 and, since the IBM deal, has been based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Williams has had Lenovo support for the last two years.