MAY 17, 1999

Michael and McDonalds

WE hear that the McDonalds hamburger company will shortly announce a sponsorship deal with Michael Schumacher to have its famous yellow M logo on Michael's cap at races. This is expected to cost the vast American corporation around $3m a year, which is rather more than Schumacher is currently receiving from Dekra.

WE hear that the McDonalds hamburger company will shortly announce a sponsorship deal with Michael Schumacher to have its famous yellow M logo on Michael's cap at races. This is expected to cost the vast American corporation around $3m a year, which is rather more than Schumacher is currently receiving from Dekra. The deal will guarantee considerable coverage for McDonalds but we understand that the company is still looking for an even bigger involvement in F1, with the latest rumors suggesting that it will buy into the Arrows team and fund the rebuilding of that operation.

It remains to be seen whether an agreement can be reached over the price of the shares but McDonalds could easily take control of the team by buying the 51% of the shares currently owned by Deutsche Bank Morgan Grenfell. It is not clear how much the merchant bank paid for the equity last winter but given the results this year it would not be surprising if DBMG decided to settle for a quick but small profit rather than having to help fund the team in the years ahead.