10 replies to this topic

[pinnacle racing]

Why do companies prefer to sponsor drivers rather than teams?

Why does it seem more difficult for teams to find sponsors but we have pay drivers who bring sponsors with them?

I know nationalism and marketing are the main reasons but I still find it hard to understand why some companies prefer to sponsor a driver and whichever team he goes to instead of sponsoring a team with no drivers attached.

[etoipi]

Sponsors like drivers because it is easier to build an advertising campaign around a person than a team. Members of the public (the targets of the advertising campaign) are more likely to recognise a person, relate to a person and want to be like that person. And nationalism is also a factor is those ad campaigns.

[pingu666]

they tend to devlop a relationship, but the teams do seem tobe struggling to get new sponsers, and have been for a few years i think

[OssieFan]

Also the drivers championship seems to be much more popular and recognised among the public than the teams championship so I guess it makes more sense to sponsor drivers in that sense.

[pinnacle racing]

So what happens if a team takes on a pay driver and his performance is really bad? Does the team have to stick it out with the driver or can they replace him mid-season (and lose the sponsor money)?

Can a pay driver lose his sponsorship mid-season if his performance leaves much to be desired?

[RedBaron]

Can a pay driver lose his sponsorship mid-season if his performance leaves much to be desired?

Yes, it's happened many times and then he also loses his drive with the team.

Edit: From Tarso Marques' wikipeida page (to name one driver that comes to mind):

In 1996, he started racing for Minardi in Formula One, competing with various drivers for the seat over the following two years, including Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli and Pedro Lamy. Minardi's financial situation demanded that drivers with strong sponsorship were generally favoured, and there were several driver changes in the team at that time.

Marques returned to Formula One in 2001 to race alongside future World Champion Fernando Alonso in the Minardi team, newly purchased by Paul Stoddart. It was a difficult season for Marques, with the team's financial difficulties not always allowing equal equipment for both drivers. Marques was employed under the provision that another driver with more sponsorship money could replace him at any point in the season, and that prospect was realised towards the end of the year, when Minardi replaced Marques with Alex Yoong.

Edited by RedBaron, 24 January 2010 - 23:57.

[pinnacle racing]

Yes, it's happened many times and then he also loses his drive with the team.

And that leaves the team with a hole in their budget? Or does the sponsor continue supporting the team but with a different driver?

[ferruccio]

And that leaves the team with a hole in their budget? Or does the sponsor continue supporting the team but with a different driver?

All depends on what was in the sponsorship contract

[Lifew12]

A big part of the problem is that we are talking about 'minor' teams who have no presence. A sponsor with, say, five million to spend will opt to stick it on the wing endplate of a McLaren, say, rather than bung it in with Campos, as the association with the former is far more lucrative than the latter. this is, of course, a hypothetical and generalised situation, but it's easy to see that the teams struggling for money are those that are far from being 'household names'. As far as I can see there have been some rather strange marketing moves made by the likes of Campos - teh clearly expected sponsor rush that many expected to see with the signing of Bruno Senna hasn't happened, and was never going to: it's Ayrton Senna who is a famous name, and he is - sadly - dead. Bruno Senna is a non-entity.

With four new teams trying to secure a budget for a sustained presence on the grid, this was always going to happen.

[The Oracle]

I think it depends on the nature of the company/sponsor. I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong here but when Rob Walker ran his private F1 venture he used his company fortune from the Jonnie Walker whisky distillary which still sponsor the Mclaren team now. maybe unknown to a few out their but the Walkers also own/owned the Brooke Bond and Nescafe brands (among other things) for a time and put them on the sides of various cars theoughout the years to generate more exposure maily because the companies top brass - i believe are big race fans and it gives them a chance to get really up close to an activity they enjoy regardless of whether it F1, Le Mans or Touring Cars.

On the other hand, if your father owns a large comapny and has an advertising budget to spend, enjoys motor sports and has a son with a license (step forward Pedro Diniz) I find it hard to see why the money would go as a associate sponsor to a top team and your "employee" may get a handful of testing miles when you can fund a lower ranking team get a bigger sticker on the side of the car and keep your customers happy in the PR enclosure, plus if your "employee" turns out to be the next Gerhard Berger shall we say whats to say someone else wouldn't want to pick up next years tab??

Plus some companies will back their own - Honda - Super Aguri - Sato - Ide - Yamamoto - disaster. Total - Peugeot - Sarrazann - Minassian etc victory. Others will try and back a driver they feel has what it takes to go all the way and then use him as a billboard in the future.

[Ferrim]

And that leaves the team with a hole in their budget? Or does the sponsor continue supporting the team but with a different driver?

It all depends of the contract. But usually the teams manage to convert that kind of sponsors into team sponsors. I remember PSN, an Argentinian network TV which was sponsoring Mazzacane at Minardi and specially at Prost. When Prost fired Mazzacane, the PSN logos stood. The same thing happened in 2002 when Yoong wasn't in the Minardi for a few races, they were still wearing those "GO KL" logos.