Lando Norris says there has been a culture shift in the years since joining McLaren, accompanied by an increase in sponsorship interest.
Although Norris made his Formula 1 debut with the team in 2019, he joined their junior driver program two years earlier. McLaren went through a leadership change shortly thereafter, with Zak Brown taking over from Ron Dennis as CEO and Andreas Seidl as team boss.
Since then, the team has gained a wealth of new supporters. Several are positioned around its growing esports program, of which Norris, an active sim racer and Twitch streamer, has a large stake. He says this has enabled them to reach non-traditional F1 sponsors.
“I believe [our] Partners and sponsors, many of them also come from the esports and computer side and not only have to do with the racing car itself. Many of our partners enjoy getting involved because of these types of things.
“I did a lot of things online, for example with Coca-Cola and Dell, who played on it and drove with them and conveyed that experience while driving on different tracks and driving a racing car. It’s very different.
“Five years ago I did [don’t] I think there were more than four logos all over the car and now the car is full of them. Although a lot has changed, I think everything has changed for the better. “
Over the past year, the team has attracted significant investments from MSP Sports Capital. It got the 2021 F1 season off to a strong start, with Norris taking third place in the championship after scoring in all of the first 10 races.
“We are on the right track as a Formula 1 team and McLaren as a company,” he said. “So it’s cool to be just part of it.
“This also includes the eSports side. It’s another sector that’s growing massively and partners love to be involved because it’s growing so fast. So good for everyone. It’s just fun to spend time with these people, get to know different people and so on. “
Norris said the changes in the team since joining have been for the better.
“There have been a lot of changes since five or six years ago when I first came here to meet Ron,” he said.
“I think it’s a lot livelier now, a lot more enthusiastic, more motivated and all that. Everything has changed, but for all the good reasons. “
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