ExxonMobil and McLaren expand partnership

McLaren partner ExxonMobil is expanding its technical relationship with the team

FAIRFAX, Va. 13 March, 2015 – ExxonMobil is expanding its technology partnership with the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team to incorporate its retail fuels brands, Esso, Exxon and Mobil, alongside Mobil 1 – the world’s leading synthetic motor oil.

ExxonMobil has enjoyed a long association with the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team, as an official technology partner providing high-performance race fuel and lubricants since 1995. In 2014, the Esso logo was featured on the car during select races in celebration of ExxonMobil and McLaren’s 20-year relationship. The 2015 season will see ExxonMobil fuels branding showcased on the MP4-30 car throughout the season.

ExxonMobil’s decision to showcase its fuels follows a recent regulatory change in Grand Prix racing. Introduced in 2014, the new fuel-limited formula means that fuel will play an even more critical role in car performance. The technical team responsible for the development of this season’s fuel has been working closely with Honda to optimize product performance for the MP4-30 since late 2013.

ExxonMobil race fuel is developed in the same technology center in Paulsboro, NJ, USA as the company’s advanced retail fuels formulations, and shares similar properties. It is this culture of leading innovation from race to road that continues to help deliver better fuel economy to customers, now and in the future.

“We are proud to have been official technology partners to the McLaren Formula 1 team for more than two decades," said Alan Kelly, president, ExxonMobil Fuels and Lubricants Company. “In addition to providing full-time laboratory and trackside engineering support, we have been the exclusive fuel supplier since the beginning of the relationship.

“With Honda on-board as the new engine partner for 2015, and highly-experienced world champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso at the wheel, capably supported by test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen, we are all focused on winning races. The addition of our fuels brands will provide us an opportunity to promote our Esso-, Exxon- and Mobil-branded fuel offerings to consumers this coming year," he added.

Ron Dennis, Chairman and CEO, McLaren Technology Group, agrees: “ExxonMobil technology and expertise has proven vital to race-winning performance throughout our relationship. The team has worked extremely hard to optimize fuel and lubricant products around the Honda power unit. Extracting more power and fuel efficiency is a key focus, we are delighted to recognize ExxonMobil’s fuels technology contributions during the past two decades by welcoming the fuels side of the business as an official partner. Fans will now be able to appreciate that contribution too with both ExxonMobil’s lubricants brand – Mobil 1, and its retail fuels brands – Exxon, Mobil and Esso – on show."