British American Tobacco – BAT and McLaren Racing announce the extension of the partnership

The deal means BAT will continue to be the Official Principal Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team for the 2024 season and beyond, having first announced the global partnership in 2019. This year also marks the first time BAT brands will appear at NEOM McLaren Formula. E cars.

BAT and McLaren’s partnership will continue to be rooted in innovative initiatives, looking at ways for the two organizations to collaborate further in areas such as diversity, inclusion and innovation.

Previous activations have included the ‘Driven by Change’ initiative, a campaign launched by BAT steam brand Vuse and McLaren in 2021 to bring about positive change through innovation. The program offers under-represented artists unprecedented opportunities using the global motorsport platform to showcase their work and raise their profile. The most recent activity took place at the Japan Grand Prix where a Japanese artist, MILTZ, was revealed as the creator of a version of the McLaren MCL38 car.

From designing McLaren’s finest to awarding a permanent residency program, ‘Driven by Change’ builds on Vuse’s decade-long legacy of supporting creative talent.

Kingsley Wheaton, Chief Growth and Strategy Officer at BAT said:

“We are very proud of the partnership we have built with McLaren over the past five years. Our combined expertise and lessons learned have helped us build multi-billion dollar brands and I am excited to see where this partnership goes from here.”

“With a high level of innovation, purposeful brand engagement and a program of events and projects that exemplify our commitment to diversity and inclusion – the McLaren partnership will continue to support BAT’s transformational agenda. With McLaren as a partner , we are well positioned to continue building a Smoke Free World.

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said:

“I am delighted to announce this expansion of cooperation with our long-term partner BAT. Together we will continue to advocate for important causes, such as DE&I, and deliver campaigns that engage and excite our global fans.

“BAT’s transformation journey is fast and innovative, just like Formula 1. I am proud that we will continue our cooperation in the future.”

Previous collaborations between BAT’s program and McLaren’s Accelerator have also seen BAT benefit from knowledge transfer and technology benchmarking. This has included McLaren supporting BAT in their research and development work, helping them improve the way they replicate new technologies.

An important part of the partnership moving forward will be finding ways to share learning and expertise in the R&D area, with a view to creating manufacturing processes that are more efficient and sustainable.