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Formula 1 News - December 2005
McLaren Mercedes

Vodafone and the McLaren Mercedes Formula One team today announce a long-term sponsorship agreement, commencing January 2007 which will last into the next decade. Vodafone will become Title Sponsor of the Team – ‘Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ and the ‘Official Mobile Partner’. The sponsorship demonstrates Vodafone’s ongoing commitment to the Formula One World Championship, a sport which continues to deliver massive global television coverage and which has significant appeal for Vodafone’s consumer and business customers around the world.

The title sponsorship includes a number of benefits:

- The team name will be ‘Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’.

- Vodafone will be the ‘Official Mobile Partner’ of the team.

- Dominant Title Sponsorship branding on the new 2007 cars, drivers' and pit crews' overalls and helmets and other ancillary elements.

- Significant marketing activation opportunities including hospitality, merchandising, and promotional rights including access to drivers and track days.

- Behind the scenes access to the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing team, enabling Vodafone to bring exclusive content to Vodafone live! with 3G customers, allowing them to ‘live the motor racing experience’ and feel part of the racing team.

- Additional content will include Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing news updates, test results and full team biographies, the McLaren story, exclusive Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team games, videos, ringtones, wallpapers and screensavers.

Commenting on the agreement Peter Bamford, Vodafone’s Chief Marketing Officer said, "We are excited about this new phase of involvement in motor racing. As Title Sponsor of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team it raises our association with Formula One to the ultimate level. The new agreement delivers a fantastic marketing platform; the associative rights we acquire as a result of this new sponsorship provide us with additional opportunities to continue to raise brand awareness, build brand preference and drive revenue. It will also provide our customers with unique and exciting content through Vodafone live! with 3G.”

“This is only the third time for more than 30 years that the opportunity to become the team’s Title Sponsor has existed," said Ron Dennis, Chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group and McLaren Mercedes Team Principal. "The status of the brand and the level of activation in support of the sponsorship were key criteria for our choice of Title Sponsor and Vodafone over-delivers in all respects. In addition, as our agreement is long-term, this provides important stability within the Team, allowing us to focus fully on our objective of winning races and Championships together. We are delighted to welcome Vodafone to the team and look forward to many future successes."

"We welcome Vodafone as the new title sponsor to the team," said Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "The fact that a world-renowned brand like Vodafone with such an impressive market performance has joined us is of significant importance not only for the team but also for all our world class sponsor partners. I am sure that each one will benefit from the respective activities of the other, which is a first class prospect for everybody involved."

About Vodafone
Vodafone provides a full range of mobile telecommunications services, including voice and data communications. Vodafone has equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Networks in a further 27 countries, with a proportionate customer base of over 171 million. Vodafone live! with 3G is available in 18 countries worldwide.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com

About McLaren
McLaren Racing, the company behind the McLaren Mercedes team, was formed in September 1980 as a result of a merger between Team McLaren and Project Four, a British company owned by Ron Dennis, now Chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group. McLaren has competed in Formula One since 1966 and since then is the most successful Formula One team with 148 Grands Prix wins. The team has also claimed eleven Formula One Drivers’ World Championships and eight Formula One World Constructors’ Championship and to date, McLaren has raced in 596 Grands Prix. The McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England, the McLaren Group’s headquarters has been developed on a 50 hectare site. The facility includes design studios, laboratories, research and testing facilities, electronics development, machine shops and production facilities for the McLaren Mercedes Formula One cars and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
For more information about McLaren please visit www.mclaren.com

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