McLaren is set to unveil a sponsorship deal with Gulf Oil, which will see the two iconic brands reunite in Formula 1.
Neither company has yet confirmed the deal, but McLaren was seen carrying out a photo shoot at a Gulf-branded petrol station on Thursday with an old F1 car and McLaren 720s.
The F1 car featured a Gulf decal on the rear-engine cover, whilst racing boss Zak Brown and driver Lando Norris were both present for the shoot, with the likely reason behind it to collect promotional material ahead of an official unveiling.
A source told MotorsportWeek.com that discussions between the two parties have been ongoing for months, with it made possible following McLaren’s split with former oil sponsor Petrobras.
The Brazilian oil giant pulled out of sponsoring McLaren after the country’s president Jair Bolsonaro criticised the five-year deal for being too expensive.
Gulf is seen as an iconic sponsor by many motorsport fans thanks to their famous orange and blue colour scheme, which has adorned many race winning cars, including several McLarens.
Gulf sponsored McLaren in F1 and Can-Am racing in the 60’s under founder Bruce McLaren, as well as the dominant F1 GTR in sportscar racing, winning at Le Mans in 1997.
McLaren teased the deal on Twitter with a blurred photo of the car featuring the Gulf branding before deleting it, but later re-posted the tweet with a different photo hiding the logo, with the caption “coming soon”.
