Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer "is to bring to an end its 30-year association with McLaren" come the end of the current F1 season and switch to rival Red Bull, according to Parkes & Rencken of AUTOSPORT. The brand has been featured on the team's cars since the MP4/4 of '85. In a "major coup," the watch brand has "decided to join forces with Red Bull from next season, drawing into question that team's partnership with Casio." Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Bivet said, "We have just signed Red Bull Racing in F1 for next season. It is a young, dynamic, go-getter, perfectly consistent with the TAG Heuer strategy." McLaren "has also confirmed the split." The loss of Tag Heuer "is the latest sponsorship blow" to McLaren as the team has been without a primary sponsor since Vodafone departed at the end of '13 (AUTOSPORT, 11/17). MOTORSPORT's Pablo Elizalde reported Tag Heuer is owned by the TAG Group, which owns a 25% stake of the McLaren Group. The Woking-based team "has endured a very difficult season in Honda's return to Formula 1" (MOTORSPOT, 11/17).
