Sahara Force India F1 team signs sponsorship deal with forex broker

The Formula 1 racing team that had a successful season last year has brought in a Cyprus-based sponsor for the new campaign that begins in Australia next month.

Sergio Perez of Mexico and Sahara Force India at the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. Mark Thompson / Getty Images

The India-licensed Formula 1 racing team Sahara Force India has signed a sponsorship deal with the Cyprus-based forex broker FXTM for the new season.

FXTM becomes “Official Forex Partner” for the team, which caught the motorsport world’s attention when they finished fourth in the Constructors Championship in 2016, beating traditional heavyweights such as McLaren and Williams that operate with higher budgets.

While the value for the deal has not been revealed, generally speaking, the rear wing, sides of the air intake box and the sides of the car itself are prime logo positions, and a sponsorship deal with a top team involving any one of these locations is likely to cost about £15 million (Dh68.4m). At the lower end of the spectrum, small logos are often found along the lowest edge of the chassis, but even these are sold for around £1m with a high-ranking team.

Force India tackled the 2016 season campaign with a relatively modest €105m (Dh407.4m) budget, but managed to get Sergio Perez on the podium on two occasions to claim the constructors’ championship fourth slot with 173 points, at a cost of €607,000 per point, according to Grandprix247.com.

Despite the eyewatering figures, that was a good return on investment compared with others such as McLaren, the fourth-biggest spenders, with a budget of €217m committed to their campaign. It was a podium-less season for their two world champion drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, who together scored 76 points, at €2.9m per point.

Sahara Force India will be hoping to improve on last year’s efforts and the much-anticipated unveiling of the team’s new car for this campaign will take place tomorrow, February 22, at the UK’s Silverstone racetrack. The opening race of the season is on March 26 in Melbourne, Australia, with Abu Dhabi once again hosting the final race on November 26.

“The Sahara Force India team was a natural choice for us, they reflect the values and goals of our company, and there are some interesting synergies. Like us, they are young and dynamic, growing in size and stature and have their eyes firmly set on the top spot of the podium,” said Olga Rybalkina, the chief executive of FXTM, which was formed in 2011.

F1 has undergone a huge change in the past few months with Liberty Media becoming the owner of Formula One racing, recently completing the transaction that represents an enterprise value for F1 of US$8 billion and an equity value of $4.4bn. There may be more changes ahead; Liberty last week signalled that it may put the brakes on the $100m annual prize money bonus received by Ferrari, the biggest name in the series.

Ferrari gets numerous financial and governance benefits including a guaranteed annual prize payment of around $100m before their cars even leave the pits, according to F1.com.

Liberty’s theory is that a more financially balanced field would improve the spectacle of F1, which in recent years has been dominated by one team – reigning champions Mercedes. In turn Liberty believes this would boost Ferrari’s sponsorship takings and outweigh any loss of its bonus.

This year heralds a new driving pairing for Sahara Force India, formed a decade ago, with Esteban Ocon replacing Nico Hulkenberg and joining the Mexican Sergio Perez, who has been with the team since 2014. Perez is understood to bring approximately €10m to €12m in sponsorship to Force India, according to James Allen, an F1 broadcaster who is also F1 correspondent for the Financial Times.

The team is based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, and was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by the Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Dutch businessman Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for €90m.

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