After being the title sponsor for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix last year, Bharti Airtel has now partnered with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team for the forthcoming Indian GP. The partnership allows Airtel to join global brands associated with the Mercedes F1 team, and further strengthens its connection with F1 fans across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The strategic alliance also gives Airtel the rights to develop co-branded merchandise, use the race partnership logo, offer exciting mobile content and organise driver-customer interaction sessions exclusively for its customers. Airtel branding will feature on the airbox and headrest of the F1 W03 car, and on the race-suits and helmets of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg during the Indian GP weekend.
Announcing the association, Bharat Bambawale (global brand director, Bharti Airtel) said, “As title sponsors, we are proud to have been an integral part of India’s first F1 race last year. We are now delighted to enter a new lap of our brand’s F1 journey with an exciting alliance with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team”.
Ross Brawn, team principal, Mercedes F1 team commented, “The 2011 Airtel Indian Grand Prix was a very successful new adventure for F1, and we are delighted to now be partnering with Bharti Airtel, who have supported the sport in India from the get-go. Taking our sport to new audiences is vital for our future and we are looking forward to working with Bharti Airtel in the run-up to this year’s race.”
Airtel is also set to get its customers closer to F1 by offering rich mobile content and instant race updates on race orders, teams and driver standings. With this association, Airtel customers will now have access to F1 experiences and videos of behind-the-scenes action, high performance engines, cars and automotive sport accessories.
The 2012 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix will be held on October 28.
Unnatee Gidithuri
Stephen Raj Antony
Saptarshi Mondal
