McLaren title sponsorship a ‘privilege’

Having spent last season without a title sponsor, McLaren are keen to secure one for 2015 but won’t sell it for any price.

Last season, their last with Mercedes power, McLaren went without a title sponsor having lost Vodafone who did not renew their deal.

McLaren instead ran with small sponsors only on the car although the occasionally big branding of Johnnie Walker and others appeared at individual races.

This season the team is hoping to secure a title sponsor for their McLaren-Honda but Racing Director Eric Boullier says they must be ready to pay for the “privilege”.

“People want to know dates, but we don’t need to [say],” Boullier told ESPNF1.

“It sounds arrogant, but I promise you it’s not, we can afford to run without a title sponsor; that’s a privilege. We want it because it’s another step we can go and we have many projects we would like to do, but to be honest, today, we can afford to run without.

“I’m not saying we don’t want one, we want one and we still have some stuff to do. Let’s have the right one at the right moment. We will not go like other teams, let’s say, and go cheap.”

He added: “People who do their due diligence know how serious McLaren is and how serious Honda is. Everybody knows that and there will be enough resources and everything in place for it to be successful.”