Key sponsor ditches Mercedes for McLaren

Lewis Hamilton's personal sponsorship with Monster Energy is reportedly going to continue.

After 14 years of sponsoring Mercedes, popular energy drink Monster Energy have ended their partnership with the Silver Arrows, in favour of a “multi-year” deal with McLaren.

Starting in 2024, the Monster Energy logo will feature on McLaren’s car, apparel, drinks bottles, caps and on Lando Norris’ and Oscar Piastri’s race suits and helmets.

It’s certainly going to look very odd not seeing the Monster Energy logo on Mercedes’ car, given how long they’ve been partnered together.

However, it won’t completely disappear from Mercedes, as it’s been reported that Lewis Hamilton’s personal sponsorship deal with the brand will continue.

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Similar to Red Bull, Monster Energy have several personal sponsorships with various elite athletes across the world.

Hamilton has collaborated with the company a lot over recent years and even has two of his own drinks in Monster Energy’s range.

Monster Energy have done a lot for Hamilton, with it having been them who were behind the seven-time World Champion’s collaboration with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi in 2019.

Hamilton and Rossi famously changed vehicles for an iconic filming day at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, which saw Hamilton ride Rossi’s bike and the latter drive Hamilton’s car.

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Now, the company are busy planning on what they’re going to do with Piastri and Norris, in what Rodney Sacks, chairman and co-CEO, Monster Energy Company, has labelled as a “new chapter”.

“Monster Energy is proud to start this new chapter in its F1 journey with McLaren Racing. Monster is focused on enhancing fan experiences and partnering with a world-class team and its elite drivers to share our passion with F1’s global audience.

“We are planning some really exciting programs with Lando and Oscar and are excited to go racing together from 2024.”

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McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is also “delighted” with the team’s new deal with Monster Energy, which he expects will “entertain our fans”.

“We are delighted to join forces with the iconic Monster Energy brand from next season onwards,” said Brown.

“Monster focuses on celebrating athletes through bold ideas and creating awesome content, so we can’t wait to explore ideas and find new ways to engage and entertain our fans.”