McLaren expect tough time

Eurosport - Mon, 08 Dec 11:35:00 2008

McLaren expect their revenues to fall by more than a third as a result of the global economic crisis, according to the Formula One team's boss and co-owner Ron Dennis.

FORMULA 1 Ron Dennis - 0

"Our budgets come from the advertising budgets of the companies that support us, and inevitably advertising budgets get slashed or at least are significantly trimmed in times of economic strife," Dennis told the Observer.

"We know we have to reduce our costs to cater for the inevitable downturn in income that is coming in 2010 and 2011," he added in an interview that the Sunday paper said took place before Honda announced that they were pulling out of the sport.

"We predict that our turnover will drop from £280 million a year to as low as £175m," said Dennis.

McLaren are 40 per cent owned by Mercedes with 30 per cent in the hands of Bahrain's state-owned Mumtalakat holding company and the remainder shared equally between Dennis and Saudi business partner Mansour Ojjeh.

Their main sponsors are telecoms giant Vodafone and Spanish bank Santander.

The team won their first Formula One title since 1999 this season, with Britain's Lewis Hamilton becoming the sport's youngest world champion at the age of 23.

McLaren are the second most successful Formula One team after Ferrari in terms of races and titles won but they also own a group of companies and Dennis has said he wants to diversify their activities further.

"If you look back in history, you see clear examples of teams that have stayed unique to Formula One that have just failed," he told reporters in Brazil in November. "You cannot sustain a Formula One team indefinitely, you need to diversify."

Mercedes motorsport head Norbert Haug said on Friday that Formula One teams must cut costs by at least 50 percent over the next two years.

However he said Mercedes' own financial position remained solid.

"Mercedes-Benz's contribution is cost-efficient, the resonance in the media and in the public which last season and Lewis Hamilton's win generated was worth many times our financial investment," he said.

Reuters

Comment 33 - 52 of 72

Sort comments by: Most recent
  1. My god mouron is wizzo's hero, what does that say­ about wizzo?

    From BigBill, on Mon 8 Dec 11:38AM
  2. Well lads I am near to tears, I have just read the­ mourons confession below.

    From BigBill, on Mon 8 Dec 11:37AM
  3. Well lads I am near to tears, I have just read the­ mourons confession below.

    From BigBill, on Mon 8 Dec 11:37AM
  4. invalids

    From BigBill, on Mon 8 Dec 11:36AM
  5. I guess they changed Mourons medication, BUT it MAY­ have been him, pretending that somebody else was­ posting as Mouron. Then again who gives a 5hit.

    From chtech06, on Mon 8 Dec 11:31AM
  6. wizzo: I guarantee you touron will still be around. ­ He's spent all weekend pretending to be Scottish C.­ I think he'll be back soon, whether as himself or­ pretending to be someone else, whether it's­ Scottish C still, me or even you

    From ginger_gitt, on Mon 8 Dec 11:25AM
  7. wizzo: yet ANOTHER Ferrari fan that can't type a­ legible sentence. Are ANY of you educated?

    From crispyduck, on Mon 8 Dec 11:04AM
  8. as "LOW AS" 170 mill ahhhh poor guys.

    From not printable, on Mon 8 Dec 10:33AM
  9. You will be back Touron,thanks for explaining the­ ingenious moving floor concept on the Ferrari in­ precise detail which at the time was NOT illegal which­ is why it was fitted.Measurements take place in park­ ferme and NOT on the track misguided fans who call­ Ferrari cheats when it was the reds' secrets that­ were being copied in Woking!

    From wizzo, on Mon 8 Dec 10:29AM
  10. Clispy, I don't read them either because there like­ comic stips but not as good as my Beano.

    From GEORGE, on Mon 8 Dec 9:47AM
  11. SHAUN C: This is about McLaren, NOT Ferrari. Last year­ was pitiful with Ferrari's impression of Oliver­ "Please Sir, Can I have some more?"
    Little­ sore, uneducated losers you Ferrari fan's. Boo­ hoo!
    LEWIS HAMILTON WORLD CHAMPION..........Sounds­ terrific!

    From crispyduck, on Mon 8 Dec 8:59AM
  12. EVERY day is the same in here from you Marion, jbolan,­ Marnio etc etc. I don't even waste my time reading­ your bile and I bet the majority of the others­ don't either so your life is EVEN more pointless­ now. All you do is take up space and that's it.....­ what a pathetic existence.

    From crispyduck, on Mon 8 Dec 8:55AM
  13. SHAME nobody wants there ads on the cheats cars

    From U R SOLES, on Mon 8 Dec 8:47AM
  14. Touronroute: Time to get ready for school.If you are­ really good & learn to spell properly they may­ allow you to use the crayons to colour pictures in­ today..you sad little p.r.a.t..

    From Tonka, on Mon 8 Dec 6:11AM
  15. IT IS TIME FOR CONFES I A,M LIAR

    I SORRY TO SCOTISH C­ FOR PRETENDING TO BE YOO. IT IS A VERY LONG AND SAD­ STORY AND I,M NOT GOOD PERSON

    4 MONTHS AGO MY WIFE­ LEAVED ME FOR OTHER MAN, I DO NOT UNDERSTNAD BUT I AM­ THINK SHE IS STUPID

    I TELL HERE WE LIVE IN VILAGE NEAR­ SILVESTONE,, SHE THINK WE LIVE IN SOME PLACE CALLED­ ADEKWIT,, SHE KEEP TELLING ME - TOURON,, YOU ARE IN­ ADEKWIT,,SHE IS VERY CRAZY,, IT IS SILVESTONE IN­ VILLAGE WE LIVES

    NOW I HAVING NO FREINDS AND MUST PLAY­ BINGO AND HIT MY DOG WITH STICK,, THIS WHY I LIE AND­ PRETEND HAVE MANY F1 BUDDIES WHO KNOW SECRET FACTS BUT­ I MAKE UP TO IMPRES NEW FREINDS

    I IS VERRY SORY FOR­ GLOCK CALLING CHEAT. I WISH HE IS INVESTIGATION OF FIA­ SO I LIE TO HOPE HE IS PUNISHED. BUT NOW I SEE TRUE­ FACTS,, FLIPE MASSA IS FASTEST LAP 1.13.736 BUT ON LAST­ LAP HE IS 1.27.721 AND HE HAS THE WET TYRE,, HE IS­ LOSING 14 SECONDS SLOW. INSAME CONDITION IN SPA IS­ FASTEST LAP IS 1.47.930 AND MASSA HAS LAST LAP OF­ 2.45.209 HE IS LOSE 57 SECONDS SLOW ON WET TRACK WITH­ DRY TYRE

    TIMMO GLOCK IS 1.44 ON LAST LAP IN BRASIL­ WITH DRY TYRE IN WET TRACK. HE IS LOSE 31 SECONDS SLOW­ THAN FASTEST

    FLIPE MASSA IS LOSE 57 SECONDS IN SPA­ WITH DRY TYRE IN WET TRACK

    NOW I SEE GLOCK IS TRY­ VERYHARD AND I ASHAMED FOR CALL HIM CHEATER

    I NO MANY­ PEOPLE THINK IA,M BRAKING RULES AND MAKING LOT OF­ TROUBLE SO I LEAVE HERE TO NOT TO CAUSE MORE TROUBLE NO­ MORE

    I SOORY FOR BEING PATHETIC LOOSER ALL MY LIFES

    From touronroute, on Mon 8 Dec 5:17AM
  16. Gerald dont watch it then you f*cking nob

    From wayne.self, on Sun 7 Dec 10:45PM
  17. mclaren are cheats along with hamilton No 1 will ever­ take them too seriosly, they tarnish the name of F1 un­ repairable now my hoes THE NAME OF F1 TOO TARNISHED it­ is a joke...

    From , on Sun 7 Dec 10:22PM
  18. hello my little f1 bum chums it marion here from peru.­
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for­ life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say?­ you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company­ is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is­ the german engine. everything about the team is the­ german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat­ much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr­ hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact­ there nothing british about this team at all. even the­ man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to­ switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by­ the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and­ guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time­ stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in­ the time warp. not even the people abducted by the­ alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap.­ IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Sun 7 Dec 10:21PM
  19. hello my little f1 bum chums it marion here from peru.­
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for­ life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say?­ you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company­ is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is­ the german engine. everything about the team is the­ german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat­ much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr­ hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact­ there nothing british about this team at all. even the­ man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to­ switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by­ the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and­ guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time­ stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in­ the time warp. not even the people abducted by the­ alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap.­ IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Sun 7 Dec 10:17PM
  20. technically you didn't "misplace" the­ hyphen, you added the hyphen. Secondly, mouronroute­ probably does play bingo with his dog whose probably­ called zak. But then again you know that already­ don't you mouron.

    From ginger_gitt, on Sun 7 Dec 10:12PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account