McLaren Loses A £155M Sponsorship Deal To Bernie Ecclestone - Reports Say

Once again, McLaren is facing another disappointment as it blew a multi-million whisky deal, after Hugo Boss ended its exclusive contract with McLaren to join Mercedes, according to a report by Mirror correspondent Byron Young.

Bernie Ecclestone walked away with the Johnny Walker deal that McLaren dreamt of taking for a long time. The team already searched for a period of 18 months in lieu of Vodafone and instead of expanding the backup for McLaren, Diageo, known owners of the famous tipple, paid to have a deal landing to become the sport's official whisky according to ESPN. The missed deal became another shame for Ron Dennis, who then refused to lower down his rate despite issues of recession.

A year ago, Britain's F1 team announced that it would reveal a new partner in December but thus far, it appears that would be unlikely. It was also another challenge after Hugo Boss ended the long-term exclusive partnership with McLaren.

Despite the dropping funds and revenues that McLaren experienced, it will project an extra sponsorship for next year from its tie-up, Honda One of the F1 legends. Moreover, McLaren had one of the last-place periods in its history as it has not won a single race since November 2013. Although it is hard to deny that McLaren have had better seasons in the past, it remains to be one of the most high profile teams with great name recognition among the general public.

On the other hand, McLaren claimed that the Mirror story was inaccurate, stating that "Johnnie Walker remains an important and valued sponsor of McLaren," according to Fox Sports.

Meanwhile, racer Jenson Button's future remains unsure as his McLaren contract runs out at the end of the season. The 2009 champion was not hopeful in the last talk of three-car teams in 2015 that might turn out to be his saving grace. He stated via Mirror that he and Dennis have been working things out and was sailing smoothly, taking into consideration that he would rather focus on having a career next year with a three-car team because he liked the F1 the way it is.