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McLaren F1 Sponsors Not Charged Extra For Branding Received From Alonso Indy 500 Run

F1 team McLaren is not charging its sponsors "any extra for the branding and exposure they are receiving" from Fernando Alonso's Indianapolis 500 venture, according to Lawrence Barretto of MOTORSPORT.com. Alonso's car is "almost entirely bedecked in McLaren’s traditional colours and covered with stickers" representing McLaren's partners. McLaren Exec Dir Zak Brown said that the team felt offering the branding without additional cost "helped offset the loss of exposure sponsors have encountered through the team’s struggles in F1." Brown: "As good partners, you need to recognise when you're delivering and when you are not and we’re not delivering on track, which directly impacts their exposure. ... We felt that was the right thing to do. Commercially, it's to make sure we deliver to our partners the exposure which we promised" (MOTORSPORT.com, 5/25).

STAR IMPACT: In L.A., Jim Peltz notes Alonso represents the "first time in years that a driver who mainly competes in Formula One stepped away for the Indy 500," and the move has "clearly lifted interest in this year's race." His first test run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 3 drew "more than 2 million viewers worldwide" for a live stream (L.A. TIMES, 5/26). REUTERS' Steve Keating noted Alonso's presence at Indy has "provided a captivating storyline that has dominated the build-up to Sunday's race." He has "overshadowed just about everything and everyone." Brown acknowledged that Alonso has "owned the Indy spotlight" but said that it was about a "rising tide lifting all boats." He said, "I bet there's more people that know Scott Dixon today than before pole internationally. ... This will have only exposed more people to him" (REUTERS, 5/25). In Detroit, Gregg Krupa notes IndyCar is "thrilled to have" Alonso at the race. Driver Will Power said, "It's really good for the sport. And, hopefully, it adds more people to the sport." Driver Simon Pagenaud: "It's fantastic for the sport. It doesn't matter if it overshadows anything, it's great to have him on board" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/26). In Indianapolis, Jim Ayello writes Alonso has "made fans of all of us." He has "embraced the madness from the moment he stepped off the plane." Ayello: "There have been no whispers that the smile he readily flashes for American cameras disappears behind closed doors. Or that his enthusiasm for the race is anything but genuine" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/26).

ON THE FLIP SIDE: In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel wrote Alonso is the "right guy to be here," as he is "drawing an entirely new fan demographic" to the Indy 500. However, he is the "last driver some IndyCar insiders want to see win on Sunday." He is the "worst-case scenario, at least for those on the inside of the sport: other drivers, other teams ... even the IndyCar circuit itself." Doyel: "Nobody else in the paddock wants Alonso to win." Part of the problem is Alonso "might not come back again, even if he wins." He is at the Indy 500 "not because he wants to try his hand at the IndyCar Series." He is "here for this race, and only this race." If Alonso wins Sunday, he "goes back to finish the season" with F1. That will leave IndyCar, "still trying to claw back into prominence, to continue" the '17 season "without being able to promote the guy who won its biggest race" (INDYSTAR.com, 5/25).

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