McLaren extends sponsorship deal with Santander

Santander branding will continue to appear on the helmets of McLaren's British drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, although the deal is thought to be for two years, with an option to run for a third, according to a well-placed source.

Santander is currently a leading sponsor of McLaren's rival F1 brand, Ferrari.

In 2009, the Spanish bank quit as a lead sponsor of McLaren and signed a deal with Ferrari. The move coincided with Spanish driver Fernando Alonso's move to Ferrari.

The bank has, though, maintained a commercial relationship with Hamilton and Button. It has been a sponsor of Hamilton since 2007 and, in 2009, it used him in an advertising campaign, in an effort to extend the brand to new markets.

As part of the deal, Santander will continue to use the drivers' images in its advertising and its branches.

Ana Botin, chief executive of Santander UK, said: "The relationship that we have built, initially with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, and now its drivers, has been integral to creating and building the Santander brand in the UK. Without it, we would have not been able to rebrand to Santander in 2010."

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk