Lenovo leaves Williams for McLaren in 2009!

Williams revealed earlier this week that she would be losing a sponsor but did not provide further details. Today, Lenovo announced in a press release that it had a change of heart. The logistics and IT company will no longer sponsor Williams but will sponsor McLaren instead. The agreement has been signed for 2009.

A year ago, Lenovo had installed a Supercomputer (powerful computer) in the Williams wind tunnel. The company then logically became a partner and sponsor of the F1 team. However, the group will now be taking care of McLaren-Mercedes. Indeed, the Woking team will soon be getting its Lenovo-optimized supercomputer. The team has also signed an agreement allowing Lenovo to take full charge of the IT system.

Martin Whitmarsh, the CEO of McLaren stated: « Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Lenovo have committed to benefit from competitive advantages and cutting-edge technology. »

On his side, the spokesperson for Lenovo, Deepak Advani, Vice President, estimates that he wants to integrate high computer technology into the high-performance single-seaters that are F1 cars.

The contract was signed for one year, automatically renewable for three years.

Williams, for its part, happy to have renewed its sponsorship contract with Philips, faces a new setback. Previously, it was the team most financially vulnerable before Honda and had already requested help from the FOM through Mr. Ecclestone.