McLaren aim to overtake Ferrari as top F1 brand

Can McLaren really overtake Ferrari?

McLaren aim to overtake glamour team Ferrari as Formula One's leading brand within the next 20 years, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said. The 52-year-old Briton, who took over at the helm from Ron Dennis last season, told reporters at the German Grand Prix that what might once have been a fantasy could become a reality in his lifetime.

McLaren, he suggested, were riding a wave of support driven by British drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the last two world champions who are first and second in the standings. "The biggest brand in Formula One today is Ferrari, and I acknowledge and accept it," he told reporters in the McLaren 'Brand Centre', an imposing glass-fronted structure in the Hockenheim paddock.

Meanwhile, Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton crashed his McLaren in practice for the German Grand Prix yesterday while Ferrari and Red Bull rivals demonstrated their speed. Hamilton had to sit out all but 12 minutes of the afternoon session, which ended with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso on top, after skidding off and smashing sideways into the tire wall before lunch. – Reuters