BP and Renault Sport Racing have today announced a new partnership which will see the global oil company join the recently reformed Renault Sport Formula One Team in support of its ambition to fight for the World Championship in the next five years.

BP and Castrol, the oil company's global lubricant brand, will provide fuels and lubricants for the upcoming Formula 1 season, which gets underway in Melbourne, Australia, in March.

"The return of BP and Castrol, brands with such strong heritage in motorsport, is very good news and opens new opportunities for our Formula 1 team. BP's commitment highlights the ongoing appeal of Formula 1 to major multinational companies. We are very proud and motivated to have a technical partner and sponsor of this calibre," said Jérôme Stoll, President, Renault Sport Racing.

"Developing leading fuel and lubricant technologies is a key priority for BP," added Tufan Erginbilgic, Chief Executive, BP Downstream. "This partnership creates exciting opportunities for the teams in Renault and BP to work together to further our cutting edge fuel and lubricant technologies in the highly competitive world of Formula 1."

"With the new aerodynamic regulations for the 2017 Formula 1 season, power sensitivity will increase. Therefore fuels and lubricants will make an even greater difference to the overall performance of the car than they have since the new power unit regulations have been introduced in 2014," said Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director, Renault Sport Racing. "The teams at BP and Castrol are very excited by the challenges offered by Formula 1 and we are confident they will help us achieve our ambitions for our new car in 2017 and beyond."

BP and Castrol will be part of the Renault Sport Formula One Team as the official fuel and lubricants provider through the BP Ultimate and Castrol EDGE brands. The last time the two companies worked together was during the 1997 season when Williams Renault won both the Formula 1 Constructors Championship and the Drivers Championship.

"The vision that Renault has to be the best team in Formula 1 is something we at Castrol, and across BP, are proud to be a part of," said Mandhir Singh, COO, BP Lubricants. "Joining the team at this point means we can work together on innovative solutions and be part of creating new success stories."