New Renault sponsors but Senna denies paying
Address Genii Capital: http://www.genii-capital.com/Genii-Capital-Contact.html
WWI Group: http://www.wwigroup.com/en/contact/index.php?
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| Bruno Senna bought his Renault ride by bringing two new sponsors to team |
08/31/11 (PVM) It would have taken a sharp eye to spot the new logos on the Renault R31 during the Belgian Grand Prix, but OGX and Gillette decals found prominent placing on the black and gold cars, coinciding with Bruno Senna’s debut for the team despite his denial that money has changed hands for the race seat.
In Belgium, Senna was adamant that he was not paying for the drive, telling Auto Motor und Sport, “If you look at the team then there are no new logos on the car or on myself. That is definitely not the reason why I’m sitting in the car. I’m there because the team has faith that I can do a good job."
We did look [carefully] at the cars and discovered the new partner logos, which appeared for the first time at Spa without the usual fanfare press release.
OGX happens to be the oil and gas company owned by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, who once publically declared his ambition was to be the world’s richest man, and is currently the fifth on the wealthiest list and is worth an estimated $30 billion.
The OGX logo appeared prominently on the either side of the cockpit of the R31, beside the drivers head.
Gillette shaving products are owned by Procter & Gamble who have a big presence in the Brazilian market, their logo appearing on the front wing end plate. An area formerly reserved for the Lotus decal.
Globo Esporte reports that both companies have been part of Senna’s portfolio of backers whose goal was to find a seat in Formula 1 for the Brazilian, nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, for 2012.
At Spa Senna pointed out, “Of course there is a large commercial potential for the team with me as a driver and hopefully we can exploit that. But I’m pretty sure I was not selected by the team because of that."
Senna’s deal includes the Italian Grand Prix and the plan is for him to race with the team until the end of the season. However the decision to race beyond Monza lies with the courts after Nick Heidfeld took legal action after being dropped, for Senna, and is claiming wages amounting to $5 million and also a return to the Renault cockpit.
Should the case be settled in favor of Renault, or an agreement is reached with Heidfeld, then Senna is expected to drive in the remaining grands prix of the season.
Renault’s Brazilian connection has been brewing for some time now and earlier this month Genii Capital Group, owners of Renault, announced a joint venture with Brazilian company World Wide Investments (WWI) which makes them the eighth largest South American investment company, managing an investment portfolio totaling $10 billion.