Verstappen's Long-Term Sponsor Reveals Reason For Walking Away

Tuesday, 09 January 2024 at 07:00

Ton van Veen, the chief executive of Jumbo, recently explained why the Supermarket Chain is ending its sponsorship collaboration with Max Verstappen.

Jumbo has been with the triple World Champion ever since the beginning of his career in Formula One. If you watch old photos from the 2015 season, you can spot the Jumbo logo on Verstappen's helmet.

This logo remained on the Helmet of the Dutch F1 driver until the season 2023, during which you could spot it on the 26-year-old's helmet right under his visor.

On June 2, 2023, it was announced the Jumbo would be parting ways with the triple World Champion. The chief executive of Jumbo, Ton van Veen, recently explained this move to the Dutch publication De Volkskrant:

"In recent years, Jumbo has lost its focus somewhat. We have added a number of activities that have not necessarily strengthened the formula. We have also become very active in sports sponsorship."

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Being one of Verstappen's main sponsors was surely a costly thing, and Jumbo decided their business could get a better return on their money elsewhere as they believed collaboration with the Dutchman did not match their brand.

"But when you look at the successes of athletes and teams, you have to ask yourself if that suits us. Max Verstappen is a World Champion. But we are a Dutch supermarket company, not even the biggest. On the world stage, we don’t have much business"

Jumbo is a supermarket chain in the Netherlands and Belgium. With 740 stores, it is the Netherlands' second biggest supermarket chain behind Albert Heijn.

Being a company that operates only in the Netherlands and Belgium, the executive suggested it didn't make sense to pay so much money for exposure to the whole world.

"That means we no longer put tens of millions into sports sponsorship, but use it to lower prices. That is the essence of Jumbo as it was meant to be."

All in all, there are probably no hard feelings on Verstappen's side, who has been super successful in the last three years and is currently F1's highest-paid driver.