Unhappy with the engine regulations for 2021, especially moves to create more standard parts, Italian-Canadian executive and Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has already warned that the Maranello team will need to re-think its future. That’s before Liberty Media announces its plans to share the prize pot more evenly and scrap the kind of historic bonus that has seen the Italian team walk away with significantly more prize money than the world champions.
Scuderia partner Banco Santander shall apparently not be extending its sponsorship contract with the Italian outfit for the 2018 Formula One season, a deal worth a reputed 40 million euros per year. The financial institution chaired by Ana Botin has been part of Scuderia Ferrari’s identity in Formula 1 since 2010 (at that time, the bank was run by Emilio Botin, a keen fan of F1 and particularly his countryman, Fernando Alonso), initiating its commercial partnership when Fernando Alonso joined the House of Maranello. Despite the Spaniard failing to secure a championship for the red squad during his tenure, Santander extended its four-year deal until 2017, as the Spanish driver headed to McLaren at the end of the 2014 Formula 1 championship.
The Maranello team was looking to renew its partnership with the bank and increase the value of its contribution for 2018 and beyond, but Santander has declined the offer, according to Spain’s El Confidencial. It could however remain a secondary partner of the Scuderia in the future.
Juan Manuel Cendoya, head of marketing and communication at Santander, has said on various occasions that the investment in Ferrari has been money well spent, claiming the return was higher than the marketing spend. Formula One has a global audience of about 400 million. Santander has an annual marketing budget of €450m, much of it going to the Spanish football league and Latin American football’s Copa Libertadores.
Buy official Ferrari F1 products!
Leave a Reply