Sponsors back Mercedes GP driver Michael Schumacher despite poor start to 2011 Formula 1 season
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher has recently been backed by his sponsors despite the fact that he had another disappointing start to the 2011 Formula 1 season.
Schumacher was unable to perform up to the mark back in 2010 as well and it seems that the German is going through the same chapter once again.
Reports revealed that Michael’s sponsors are going to stick with him which is going to be a huge motivational boost for the Mercedes driver as there were rumours that he might quit the sport in 2012 and that he is not “feeling it” anymore.
Three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart on the other hand stated that Schumacher has damaged his reputation by returning to Formula 1 as he has been unable to score a single podium since he came back. Keeping that in mind, his sponsors are still
going to stick with him for some time.
“With every race he doesn't finish or score a point, his brand equity is being progressively eroded,” sports business strategy professor Simon Chadwick told the media.
The Mercedes driver currently has an agreement with Swiss sponsors including Jet Set, Navyboot and Audemars. According to an F1 sponsorship expert Zak Brown, Schumacher commanded “a fee of about $1 million” for his personal endorsements as well.
Other than that, Audemars Piguet has recently stated in its defence that they are going to stick with the seven-time world champion as it was “first and foremost the man and his overall career” which earned him these sponsors including themselves.
Other brands including Navyboot believe that Michael still has the capability to do well and they are hopeful that the German would start winning races once again in due course of time.
According to his team’s progress and his teammate Nico Rosberg’s display, it seems that Schumacher is the one who is struggling to perform and understand these new regulations. That might be one of the reasons why he is not performing at his best.
Nico on the other hand is doing much better than the German legend but at the last race in Spain, the seven-time champion finished ahead of his teammate for the first time this season and this confidence boost might enable him to perform even better at the
upcoming races as well.
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