5 Indians get 'money-can't-buy' lifetime opportunity with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix

New Delhi, October 27, 2011: Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, today announced the winners of - ‘Vodafone Race to Fame’ and ‘Vodafone Drive into the Big League’ –two unique and innovative engagement initiatives in the build-up to the inaugural Indian Grand Prix event at the Buddh International Circuit at Greater Noida. As winners of ‘Vodafone Race to Fame’, Imran Sidi (Mumbai), Suhail Ahmed (Chennai), Naveen Kumar (Bangalore) & Shray Tiwari, (Mumbai) will spend the weekend of their lives enjoying full hospitality staying with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. They would get complete access to the Paddock club, Pit lane, team garage and will also participate in pit crew practice along with the two racing stars at the Indian Grand Prix. These winners were greeted on stage by the two racing icons of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team –Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Also, in what is a ground-breaking initiative to promote the small and medium enterprise sector in India, M/s ‘ABC Consultants’, pioneers of organised recruitment services in India as winners of the ‘Vodafone Drive into the Big League’, got a money-cant-buy-experience of having their company logo on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes cars during the race weekend at the Indian Grand Prix. Mr. Shiv Agrawal –CEO, ABC Consultants received this honour at the hands of Marten Pieters -MD & CEO, Vodafone India in the presence of the two drivers.

On the eve of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are looking forward to racing at the circuit in Greater Noida and feel that there is an “incredible” excitement and knowledge about the sport in the country.

Fresh from his second place podium finish at Korean Grand Prix and sharing his excitement of being in India once again, 26 year old ace driver Lewis Hamilton said,

“It feels great to be back in India and I would like to thank Vodafone, for their continued support to the team. I am simply overwhelmed by the incredible excitement and the knowledge towards motorsports shown by the people of this country.”

“India’s a sports-mad nation — mostly, it’s about cricket, which is understandable because they’re a very successful cricketing country, but I really think the people of India are going to take Formula One to their hearts. All of us in the team are looking forward to this experience and I am confident of a fantastic race on October 30.”

Speaking on his first visit to India, winner of Japanese Grand Prix 2011, Jenson Button said,

“This is my first visit and I’m excited to be here in India. I am looking forward to the Indian Grand Prix this weekend and am confident that it will be a spectacular experience for both the drivers and the Indian audience. There has been a lot of buzz and excitement about this event in the build-up and it’s good to see the response and enthusiasm shown by the locals.”

“The track looks great, it has quite a nice mix of corners - the start of the lap is pretty stop-start, there are a couple of long straights mixed with tight hairpins, but it’s the end of the lap that’s more interesting, I am looking forward to the first practice session tomorrow to get a first-hand experience and hope we can make it a memorable race.”

Receiving the coveted honour of being the chosen enterprise and having his company logo on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes cars, Shiv Agrawal –CEO, ABC Consultants said,

“This is an absolute dream come true. On behalf of my entire organization, I would like to thank and compliment Vodafone for such a wonderful initiative to promote and give an opportunity to an enterprise like ours. The inaugural Indian Grand Prix is a wonderful opportunity and platform for us to drive into the big league and we look forward to benefiting from this international association in the near future.”

Global Association
Vodafone is the Title sponsor and 'Official Total Communications Partner' of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. This partnership is Vodafone's major global sponsorship and is part of an ongoing commitment to the Formula 1 World Championship, a sport which continues to deliver massive global television coverage and which has significant appeal for Vodafone's consumer and business customers and racing fans around the world.

The title sponsorship, including the team name 'Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' and 'Official Total Communications Partner' of the team, continues to give Vodafone dominant title sponsorship branding on the new 2011 cars, drivers' and pit crews' overalls and helmets. As it enters into the fifth season of this partnership, the associative rights acquired provide Vodafone, unique opportunities that will continue to build brand value and raise brand awareness.