Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has had a re-think over the sponsorship deal Petrobras made with McLaren in 2018. The state owns 64% of Petrobras and it seems that the $150 million they agreed to might be better used elsewhere.
Em 2018 a Petrobrás assinou contrato de publicidade de R$ 782 milhões com a McLaren, válido por 5 anos. No momento, a empresa, por decisão do meu Governo, busca uma maneira de rescindir o contrato. Boa noite a todos!
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) May 18, 2019
A rough translation via Google is:
“In 2018 Petrobrás signed an advertising contract of R $ 782 million with McLaren, valid for 5 years. At the moment, the company, by decision of my Government, seeks a way to terminate the contract. Good evening everyone!”
Good evening indeed. According to an Autosport article, McLaren was asked for a comment but said those kinds of commercial agreements are confidential. Fair enough but I’m curious how Zak Brown manages this situation.
If there is a way out, perhaps this leaves McLaren moving over the Renault’s partner, BP, for fuel and lubricants?
So, why does Brazil’s government want out?
Considering the way that Brazil’s politics have been operating in recent years, the president is probably unhappy that whatever bribes and kickbacks came from the deal went to his predecessor rather than to him.