July’s hot F1 news on the tie up between McLaren and Gulf Oil International means that the Gulf brand is back in Formula One after an absence of 47 years.

To launch the partnership, the Gulf brand was integrated into the McLaren Formula 1 team at the British Grand Prix and the logo will be represented by McLaren F1 personnel throughout the 2020 F1 season, including via race drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz and the McLaren pit crew. Gulf branding will also appear on the engine covers and wing mirrors of the McLaren MCL35 race cars. Next up is the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.

From 2021, Gulf will become the preferred lubricant supplier to McLaren Automotive, with all its luxury supercars filled with Gulf’s oil and fuel, optimised for high performance engines.

The partnership reunites two renowned brands that have a long-standing and successful history together and Polygon Marketing has played its role in the success of this very significant motorsport relationship.   

Gulf’s link with McLaren started in 1968 and in the distinctive papaya orange livery continued until the end of the 1973 season, with Gulf and McLaren enjoying success in both Formula 1 and the Can-Am series, in which the partnership won over 40 races.   

The final Formula 1 race featuring Gulf, until Silverstone last month, saw Denny Hulme, Peter Revson and Jody Scheckter race aboard the McLaren M 23 at Watkins Glen at the USA Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on a place on the podium with 4th and 5th finishes. 

After 21 years, the partnership was renewed in 1994. Polygon’s Martin Allerton was approached to coordinate all aspects of the brand-building project. It was in July of that year when, following a meeting with McLaren car director Creighton Brown, Martin was introduced to McLaren F1 road car owner Ray Bellm, and the idea of a two-car full-season programme was brought to fruition. 

Thereafter, Polygon was instrumental in shaping up the initiative, which would see Gulf return to participate in a full sportscar racing season for the first time since the 1970s as part of the BPR Global GT Series, which would later become the FIA GT Championship. The highly publicised McLaren F1 GTR’s would also carry the Gulf colours at the world famous 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. It won nine races across two seasons, narrowly missing out on a championship title.

The multi-faceted programme, which Polygon managed throughout, lasted for three years, culminating with the F1 GTR winning the GT1 class at Le Mans and adding to Gulf’s already rich heritage at the la Sarthe circuit.

During those three years, Polygon Marketing generated over £5million-worth of publicity for the Gulf brand through dedicated PR and promotional activity. Martin subsequently published ‘Blue & Orange’, the well-received written history of Gulf in Motorsport, which contains further details of the long and illustrious history of Gulf-McLaren partnerships through the years. The business continues to provide PR and marketing support to Gulf’s retail division in the UK today.