Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has announced Olympus as the team’s official supplier of photographic services.

*Image courtesy McLaren

Olympus has a rich history of involvement with Formula 1 through previous sponsorships and has worked closely with and photographed some of the sport’s legendary drivers such as Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, James Hunt, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Hunt and Senna both won Drivers’ World Championship with McLaren.

With the new Partnership, Olympus will continue to develop its relationship with the sport by working alongside Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett. British photographer Jon Nicholson, using the Olympus E system, will spend the 2008 season with the team, capturing not only the on-track action but also an exclusive and intimate behind the scenes story as the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team’s Championship challenge unfolds.

Ron Dennis, Chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group commented: “We are delighted to welcome a renowned brand such as Olympus to our partner portfolio and look forward to a long and successful co-operation. It’s always a tremendous boost for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes when we announce a new partner and to be able to do so only a few days before the start of the new season in Australia makes it even more significant. Formula 1 as a sport attacks every sense, be it sound or smell, but most importantly it is very visual. Photography can capture iconic moments in time on the race track in a way moving pictures don’t allow, and it therefore forms an important element of our communication. Olympus is a visionary organisation, they seek to innovate in every area they work in and we are excited about the opportunities they can help us explore together in this area.”

Olympus Managing Director Graeme Chapman said: “We are delighted to be involved with the most exciting team in the sport. I am looking forward to more vintage results both on the track and on the back of Jon’s E-3 SLR.”

As part of the partnership, Olympus will post a selection of photographs from each race at www.Olympus.co.uk and provide links from there and also run a competition where entrants can win the photographic equipment used by Jon Nicholson during the 2008 race season.

FAST FACTS
▪The two organisations have shared significant milestones in their respective histories away from the race track. This includes in 1999 when Olympus produced the first groundbreaking digital camera with more than two million pixels, the same year as McLaren-Mercedes won the Drivers’ World Championship with Mika Hakkinen.
▪Olympus Optical Co (Europa) GmbH was founded in 1963, the same year as Bruce McLaren founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing.
▪When Olympus launched the famous OM-1 in 1972, it became the world-leading pioneer in the development of compact SLR cameras. SLR is a moniker synonymous with McLaren and Mercedes-Benz who are currently producing the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.
▪The Olympus television advertisement in the 1970s created the famous catchphrase “Who do you think you are, David Bailey?”. Lewis Hamilton was photographed by David Bailey for the March issue of British GQ.
▪Olympus is a leading manufacturer of professional opto-digital products and pioneers key technologies in the fields of imaging and voice products, endoscopy, microscopy, bioanalytics and diagnostics.