LONDON, Sept. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  At this year's FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN DUTCH GRAND PRIX 2022, VELO in partnership with The McLaren F1 Team, are shining a spotlight on motorsport fans with the launch of a bespoke love-inspiring branding design on The McLaren F1 Team's car. Diving deeper into the unexpected world of fans, this exciting reveal sparks the beginning of a new and inspiring content series by VELO and The McLaren F1 Team, where they uncover the unique stories of The McLaren F1 Team fans and their unwavering love of motorsport.

The fan-focused design will feature the word 'LOVE' on both sidepods made up of names and messages from fans of The McLaren F1 Team around the world, placing them at the heart of elite motorsport - on the car as it races around the track. Driven by racing legends Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, the bespoke 'LOVE' lettering will debut in a country known for its culture of love - The Netherlands - at the FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN DUTCH GRAND PRIX 2022, where the host country's orange 'fan-army' meet McLaren's papaya 'fan-army' for a brightly-coloured race weekend.

Selected through a global competition which pulled in 2,700 entries, the 'LOVE' lettering includes the names and messages of 95 fans from multiple countries, ethnicities, and backgrounds, highlighting the growing diversity of motorsport fans. Messages from the fans include "Viva La Papaya" from Andrew. The launch is part of VELO's new campaign, LOVE THE UNEXPECTED, which is all about celebrating motorsport fans and their unexpected stories. Tapping into the constantly changing face of motorsport fandom, VELO and The McLaren F1 Team are championing the love and passion fans have for the sport on a global scale. The series will uncover the untold tales of fans of The McLaren F1 Team and their exciting stories, delighting them with new ways to experience the sport.

John Beasley, Group Head of Brand Building, BAT, comments: "We wanted to do something different and unexpected that celebrated our love for the fans whose passion and energy fuels the sport. With the support of our partnership with The McLaren F1 Team, we've offered fans a unique opportunity to see their name race around the track in front of the global motorsport fanbase. This is just one example of VELO's passion to deliver unexpected experiences for fans, and we want to continue to celebrate those that make the sport what it is today. By uncovering their passion and drive for motorsports and the ways in which they celebrate it, our fan-focused videos showcase the exceptional world of motorsport fans and their captivating stories of love for the sport."

Lou McEwen, Executive Director, Brand & Creative, The McLaren F1 Team, comments: "Fans are at the heart of every sport, but motorsport fandom is like no other. Through the partnership with VELO, we have placed fans firmly on the focal point of motorsport, the car, and have championed their captivating stories with our fan-focused videos. The bespoke 'LOVE' lettering is the first time that fans and their messages have been featured on the car and we are proud to celebrate some of McLaren's greatest supporters."

Launching from 22^nd September, VELO and The McLaren F1 Team's Love the Unexpected content series will begin to release the fan stories - from the weird to the wonderful - highlighting the love these fans have for the sport that is driving the new face of elite motorsport culture. The fans include:

• MATTHEW POAT - Minutes away from the Silverstone Circuit, Matthew Poat aka Racing Chocs, creates bespoke motorsport-themed chocolates. Matthew has combined his love of motorsport and The McLaren F1 Team with his passion for chocolate, creating a bespoke career as a chocolate engineer. VELO and Matthew will dive into the delicious world of chocolate, uncovering Matthew's creative flair and talent for creating racing-themed sweet treats inspired by The McLaren F1 Team
• ALEX CREES - Having lived in Indonesia for 10 years everything revolves around Alex's crazy adventurous lifestyle. From watching at the Spanish GP on board a boat under the stars at 3am in Alor, East Indonesia - to watching the Monaco GP from Komodo whilst hiking a mountain, nothing stops Alex from watching his passion and supporting The McLaren F1 Team. VELO and Alex will reveal the extreme lengths he'll go to, to get his motorsport fix and some of the weirdest places he's cheered on The McLaren F1 Team - from shark-infested waters to the edge of a volcano

To discover more about the fan stories head over to the Instagram pages of VELO and The McLaren F1 Team.

Notes to Editors:

About BAT

BAT is a leading, multi-category consumer goods business with a purpose to build A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky products for adult consumers.

The company continues to be clear that combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks, and the only way to avoid these risks is not to start or to quit. BAT encourages those who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch completely to scientifically-substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives*. In order to deliver this, BAT is transforming into a truly consumer-centric multi-category consumer products business.

BAT's ambition is to have 50 million consumers of its non-combustible products by 2030 and to generate Pound 5billion of New Categories revenue by 2025. BAT has set stretching ESG targets including achieving carbon neutrality for Scopes 1 & 2 by 2030 and eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic and making all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

BAT employs over 52,000 people and operates in over 175 countries. The BAT Group generated revenue of Pound 12.87 billion in the first half of 2022 and profit from operations of Pound 3.68 billion.

The company's Strategic Portfolio is made up of its global cigarette brands and a growing range of reduced-risk* New Category tobacco and nicotine products and traditional non-combustible tobacco products. These include vapour, tobacco heating products, modern oral products including tobacco-free nicotine pouches, as well as traditional oral products such as snus and moist snuff. In the first half of 2022, we had 20.4 million consumers of our non-combustible products, a rise of 2.1 million on full year 2021.

*Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.

Our products as sold in the US, including Vuse, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, and Camel Snus, are subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation and no reduced-risk claims will be made as to these products without FDA clearance.

About McLaren Racing

McLaren Racing was founded by New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren in 1963. The team entered its first Formula 1 race in 1966, since then McLaren has won 20 Formula 1 world championships, more than 180 Formula 1 grands prix, the Indianapolis 500 three times, and the Le Mans 24 Hours at its first attempt.

The team competes in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, the NTT INDYCAR Series with Arrow McLaren SP drivers Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, and the Extreme E Championship with Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust. McLaren will compete in Season Nine of the FIA Formula E World Championship in 2022/23.

McLaren was the first F1 team to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard in 2010 and has retained it since on a bi-annual basis, most recently in February 2021. The team was also the first in F1 to be given the FIA Sustainability Accreditation Award at a three-star level in 2013 as part of the FIA Environmental Certification framework, before becoming a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Commitment in 2021.

SOURCE VELO