Vodafone has announced a long-term sponsorship agreement with McLaren, commencing January 2007 which will last into the next decade.

The mobile communications giant will become Title Sponsor of the Team - 'Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' and the 'Official Mobile Partner'.

Commenting on the deal Peter Bamford, Vodafone's Chief Marketing Officer said, "We are excited about this new phase of involvement in motor racing.

"As Title Sponsor of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team it raises our association with Formula One to the ultimate level. The new agreement delivers a fantastic marketing platform; the associative rights we acquire as a result of this new sponsorship provide us with additional opportunities to continue to raise brand awareness, build brand preference and drive revenue. It will also provide our customers with unique and exciting content through Vodafone live! with 3G."

"This is only the third time for more than 30 years that the opportunity to become the team's Title Sponsor has existed," said Ron Dennis. "The status of the brand and the level of activation in support of the sponsorship were key criteria for our choice of Title Sponsor and Vodafone over-delivers in all respects. In addition, as our agreement is long-term, this provides important stability within the Team, allowing us to focus fully on our objective of winning races and Championships together. We are delighted to welcome Vodafone to the team and look forward to many future successes."

"We welcome Vodafone as the new title sponsor to the team," added Norbert Haug. "The fact that a world-renowned brand like Vodafone with such an impressive market performance has joined us is of significant importance not only for the team but also for all our world class sponsor partners. I am sure that each one will benefit from the respective activities of the other, which is a first class prospect for everybody involved."

The title sponsorship will includes branding on the cars, drivers' and pit crews' overalls and helmets and other ancillary elements.

Furthermore, there will be significant marketing activation opportunities including hospitality, merchandising, and promotional rights including access to drivers and track days.

Additional content will include Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing news updates, test results and full team biographies, the McLaren story, exclusive Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team games, videos, ringtones, wallpapers and screensavers.

Following Vodafone's decision to drop its sponsorship of Manchester United, there was speculation that it might also drop Ferrari and pull entirely out of Formula One.