18 million Euros for a rear wing


New look for 2004

By role
February 21 2004

The Renault F1 team has announced a new deal with the Spanish telecommunication company Telefonica. The deal is reported to be for 2 years, with a one year extension if Alonso remains on the team in 2006, and for a total of 18 million Euros. The deal was supossed to be announced before the presentation of the team at Palermo on January 29th. However, negotiations where halted due to differences between the parties.

The deal gives Telefonica presence on the car with their name on the rear wing as well as in the driver's overalls.

During 2004 Telefonica will pay Renault 8.5 million Euros. The amount will increase to 9.5 million Euros for the 2005 season.

Telefonica's interest at first was just to sponsor Alonso as a driver. However, Flavio Briatore rejected the deal and tried to reach an agreement for the team as well.

"It is a good boost for the team to welcome Telefonica on-board just before the start of the season," commented Managing Director Flavio Briatore. "Renault is a team with a strong international profile, and it is therefore a significant step for us to welcome a major Spanish company such as Telefonica as our Partner.

"We have had an extremely successful winter on the commercial front: this new Partnership marks the eighth new commercial agreement we have signed for 2004. Our testing pace has been promising, and we look forward to successful seasons ahead."

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