Fuss over nothing? No VELO, but LOVE on McLarens at Zandvoort
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
The outrage of three health organizations over the sponsorship of a snus company on the McLaren cars during the Dutch Grand Prix may be unfounded. Indeed, the name VELO does not appear on the sidepods of the McLarens at Zandvoort, as is customary. What does appear on the sidepods is the word LOVE, with the individual letters consisting of the names of sixty winners of a competition.
VELO is a snus brand, part of British American Tobacco (BAT). McLaren entered into a partnership with it in 2019. In the Netherlands, the sale of snus is not allowed, advertising for it is. Nevertheless, the three health foundations have sent a complaint to the Advertising Code Committee, asking it not to allow the brand name VELO on McLarens during the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix. GPblog asked BAT for a response, but the company said it would not comment.
McLaren responds summarily
Meanwhile, it is clear that VELO and McLaren announced some time ago that they would replace the brand name at Zandvoort with the word LOVE. In the past, BAT has more often made the sponsorship space on the car available to other parties or initiatives. In 2021, for example, the dance festival Tomorrowland was given the opportunity to advertise the festival during the Belgian Grand Prix. Incidentally, it is still unclear whether VELO will also not be seen as a small logo on the side of the front wing.
Initially, McLaren did not want to comment on the fuss created in the Netherlands, according to the Telegraaf. Later, in a summary statement, the racing stable let the media know: "All logos on McLaren's race cars are fully compliant with the legal requirements and advertising standards that apply in the countries where we race."