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Formula One: Santander Bank dropping racing sponsorship

By Alex Herbst

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 13: Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren Honda, Natalie Pinkham and Marc Gene of Spain and Scuderia Ferrari at the Santander Cycle Challenge at the 2017 British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit on July 13, 2017 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images for Santander)
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 13: Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren Honda, Natalie Pinkham and Marc Gene of Spain and Scuderia Ferrari at the Santander Cycle Challenge at the 2017 British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit on July 13, 2017 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images for Santander) /
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On the same day Formula One picked up a big new sponsor, another one is exiting the sport. Santander Bank will be exiting their partnerships in racing.

Formula One is in an age of change under new owners Liberty Media. Many teams are changing drivers, with sponsorship also shifting around the sport. Alfa Romeo announced today that they are now the title sponsor of the Sauber F1 Team. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari is about to lose one of their key partners.

As reported by Motorsport.com, Santander Bank will terminate their Formula One sponsorship deals at the end of 2017. This includes sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari, a deal with McLaren reserve driver Jenson Button, and their partnership with the sport overall. Money from these deals will be redirected to a three-year deal to sponsor the UEFA Champions League.

The Spanish bank released the following statement about ending their sponsorship of the world championship:

"“At the end of this year, Santander will conclude its successful sponsorship of the Formula One racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, which it has supported for the last eight seasons.“The bank will also conclude its corporate sponsorship agreements with F1 which have helped increase Santander’s brand recognition around the world over the last 11 years.”"

Santander’s partnership with F1 spans greater than a decade. While Fernando Alonso drove with McLaren, they came aboard with the team in 2007. They then followed him to Ferrari in 2010. The UK Division of the bank continued to sponsor McLaren, though not visible on the car. Most of the remaining deal with the Woking-based team revolved around former reserve driver Jenson Button.

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In addition to working with two different teams, Santander was an important player in the sport overall. They previously sponsored the British and Spanish Grand Prix and were a primary partner of F1 overall. However, their presence at the track and on cars had been waning in recent years. The only presence the bank had on a car was on the rear wings of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

The exit of Santander perhaps ends the era of major financial institutions sponsoring Formula One teams. At one time before the global financial recession, other major banks including HSBC, RBS, UBS, and ING all were seen on track in the world championship. However, Formula One will likely seek to replace Santander as a sport-wide partner in the near future.

Next: Alfa Romeo returns to F1 with Sauber

With Santander Bank’s departure from Formula One, the future for the sport does not appear as rosy as Liberty Media suggests. Declines in revenue and purses from races have become a major concern for teams, with some even threatening to leave the sport. Beyond The Flag will continue to cover this story as it develops.

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