Mastercard has trumpeted its sponsorship of McLaren during this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, as the Formula 1 Team unveiled its latest car livery.
The financial giant’s marketing boss said the sponsorship is part of the company’s strategy to align its brand with the passions of its customer base.
Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard (pictured, right), said he was “thrilled” to see the company’s logo on the new McLaren livery as the payments giant officially launched its partnership with F1 team.
“Our collaboration with McLaren is all about bringing fans closer to the action – from exclusive events to moments that celebrate the energy and excitement of Formula 1,” he wrote on a post on Linkedin. “F1 is a global phenomenon with a passionate and rapidly growing fan base and the electric energy in Las Vegas this week truly reflects that excitement.”
In a separate news release timed to coincide with qualifying on Friday (22 November), the company explained that Mastercard had invited more than 100 customers to a special one-of-a-kind event.
Rajamannar said the event had “paid homage” to McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s 1 minute 35 second lap time at last year’s Las Vegas grand prix with 135 cardholders invited to watch the event, with grandstand tickets and a performance from Cirque du Soleil.
“Over the course of our partnership, we’ll continue to bring cardholders unique access through priceless.com, combining racing with other passion areas for deeper and richer experiences and helping cardholders go behind the scenes with McLaren,” Rajamannar added. “We can’t wait to share the fan-focused experiences planned for 2025.”
A new multi-year deal between Mastercard and McLaren was first announced in July, when McLaren promised the Mastercard brand would appear later in the season.