Brazilian oil company Petrobras is to return to Formula 1 in 2019 in a technical partnership with McLaren, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
The tie-up had been expected with rumours of a deal going around and will see Petrobras supply the British team with their fuel, oil and lubricants as well as the sharing of new technologies between the two parties.
Commenting on what executive director Zak Brown hopes to be the first of many new sponsors and partners in the coming year, he spoke of the historical link between F1, McLaren and the South American country.
“Brazil’s passion for F1 is legendary and the country has produced some of the most iconic names in F1 history,” he claimed. “We are delighted to deepen our relationship with Brazilian F1 fans through our partnership with Petrobras, a flagship brand for the nation.
“Petrobras is an ambitious organisation and we look forward to McLaren being an accelerator and enhancer in their brand-building efforts.”
The partnership comes at a key moment for McLaren, who are anticipating a significant jump in competitiveness in 2018 thanks to a switch to Renault engines after splitting with Honda.
In recent years, the development of fuels and lubricants has become very important to extract optimum performance from the hybrid power units and that has made F1 an attractive option for Petrobras once again.
“The technologies developed for F1 will be transferred to the products we offer our customers and being at the forefront of fuel and lubricant development is of value to our company, its shareholders and customers,” CEO Pedro Parente stated.
