The new McLaren livery.........I hate it!
After all the hype about global title sponsors, retro Marlboro liveries (yes please!) It was the red surround round the front nose that did it for me....a bizarre homage to the two year departed title sponsor Vodafone. But hey, logical enough, given supreme head honcho/leader Ron Dennis said during the Jerez test that there was no point changing the colour scheme until a putative title sponsor ponied up some moolah?
They took the red off last year. Ron...?
So not a good look, not good 'vertical brand external exposure imagery synergy' from McLaren! But all would be a temporary distraction if it did not hide some uncomfortable portents for the coming years.....
McLaren have long been rightly famed for the stable, heavyweight long term sponsorship deals they have been able to make. Marlboro, West, Vodafone, Boss, Mobil......high paying sponsors, on long term deals. Bullseye for the sponsorship team! But lately, they have been not reaching the board. The new McLaren is barren, bereft of sponsors large or small, and while I am sure the £50 polo shirts are nice, I doubt they are taking up the slack in the same way shirts do for a football team....
The problem may not be the sponsorship, at a time when costs are escalating, F1 is struggling for audience, and advertisers have a great number of other global outlets. But with Red Bull and Mercedes able to whack huge sums in from the parent company, who in the Darwinian world of F1 will have sympathy? And something is definitely wrong, with even Santander off the McLaren overalls despite the presence of Senor motorsport (don't mention the emails) Fernando Alonso. I wouldn't have thought even me making a presentation drunk with an upside down Powerpoint could have turned Santander off with Alonso there......
And can McLaren find the money to keep competing at the top table? They subidised their own team last year, have free Honda engines (although less FOM prize money) this year, but when the accounts for 2013 show £8 million in cash in the bank potentially down to £100 million this year, does the team rely on shareholder generosity (from Baharian?)? And Alonso will not have decreased the wage bill.......
And in this uncertain environment, when the team need a strong year, comes the new Honda engine. It was in recalcitrant mood at Jerez. Are Honda a year behind, destined for a frustrating year as the others pull ahead thanks to a year's experience?
Against these questions, McLaren have a lot of plus points. A driver many consider the best, and another World Champion. A designer fresh from Red Bull, who has produced a sleek agressive car (albeit inartfully monikered). IF Honda have used their year of observation wisely (will the split turbo work for them like Mercedes?) and get over teething troubles, odds are the drivers and chassis can capitalise with hatfulls of points, and maybe a lot more. And if the title sponsor follows, McLaren may well have fallen through the crossroads.....to years of victories and titles.
In F1, teams ebb and flow as the creative, personal and situational evolution drives ever forward. It is always fascinating when a team reaches a 'pivotal year', and it will be fascinating to see how McLaren do.
Good luck the boys and girls from Woking........and please repaint the car ;)
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