Are you willing to sponsor?
Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted January 29, 2015 | In Formula1, MotoGP, Sport News, Sport Sponsorship, Sports Marketing
McLaren have revealed their 2015 Formula One car, the first Honda-powered McLaren since 1992, that will be driven by Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in this year’s championship. The theme of evolution rather than revolution continues as the MP4-30’s main significant change is that of the front wing, which has been altered to conform with 2015 regulations.
The return of the McLaren-Honda partnership, which won both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships for four consecutive years between 1988 and 1991, has been anticipated by fans across the world since it was announced in 2013.
“I was team principal all those years ago,” said group CEO Ron Dennis, “and while I don’t tend to like looking back to the past our previous record of sustained success was certainly instrumental in creating the confidence to make the decision to partner with Honda again. Now, there’s real hunger to demonstrate the capabilities of the huge talent pool we share between us, and I’m totally committed to driving progress and achieving further success.”
Honda’s head of motorsport Yasuhira Arai said: “As you can see with the new MP4-30, we’ve dedicated ourselves as one team with McLaren to creating a new car that compromises on nothing – either power or aerodynamics.
“Yet, in the midst of the excitement, both myself and our engineers are 100% focused in both Sakura and Milton Keynes to prepare for Jerez and beyond. We’re confident that the technology is there and I’m looking forward to see how it will perform.
“We’re about to commence a long season, with numerous challenges but Honda is determined to face them head-on. After all, we’re here to drive Formula One’s technology forward and give our fans a thrilling ride.”
Jenson Button, who enters his 6th year driving for the British team, believes that this car is unique from those that have come before it:
“This year’s car is very different to the last two years,” said Button. “I know all of the mechanics are very excited about working on it. They say everything just fits and it just works in terms of it feels like on package instead of different departments building different parts of the car and then putting it together. So there’s a really good vibe about the place, people have a good feeling about where the car is in terms of engine.”
“We obviously have a lot less experience than the other engine manufacturers so it’s going to be a tough winter testing programme. We’re going to get a lot of experience and the great thing about Honda is they’re very good at listening to what you have to say in terms of drivers’ feedback, if you tell them you need something, they’ll be on it straight away and will either have a fix or an improvement for the next test.”
Fernando Alonso, who returns to the team for the first time since a problematic year in 2007, will be the first man to drive the MP4-30 when the first pre-season test gets under-way in Jerez on Sunday February 1st.
“I think the first couple of days with the car we will discover many things and we need to be ready to react to all the problems we may face and be ready with an answer from everybody all together,” Alonso explained.
“I think it’s going to be a learning year and a learning process for all of us. Obviously we are here to win so the goal is to win, there is nothing more than that but I think we need to be ready to work as a team, very united to achieve that win as soon as possible.”
Alonso’s old team, Ferrari, will unveil their 2015 car which will be driven by Kimi Raikkonen and new-signing Sebastian Vettel. The second Ferrari-powered team, Sauber, will also reveal their car which is expected to be an all-new car for an all-new line-up of rookie Felipe Nasr and former Caterham driver Marcus Ericsson.
Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
A graduate in Public, Social and Political Communication from the University of Bologna, he has always been passionate about marketing, design and sport.
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Read MoreIn an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
When first approaching a sponsorship or sports marketing project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Sports is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
Sports is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A sports marketing and sports sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which sport, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the real heart of sports sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a sports marketing project you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase on the Web, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
We have been involved in sports sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
The online platform where you can discover the latest trends, strategies and insights from the exciting world of sports marketing.
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