Mobil 1 to Switch from McLaren to Brawn?

On the verge of losing one of their most important sponsors in Formula One, namely Virgin Group, Brawn GP is allegedly on the verge of inking a major deal with McLaren's oil sponsor Mobil 1. The rumor appeared in the DTM paddock during the season finale at Hockenheim, as reported by the GMM news agency, and suggested that this may be a result of a potential Mercedes-Brawn collaboration in the future.

Mobil 1 is currently partnering McLaren Mercedes in the Formula One championship, but Mercedes' potential switch in factory backing from Woking to Brackley is projected for the end of 2011.

In response, McLaren team is rumored to have already contacted Malaysian oil company Petronas for a potential deal in the upcoming years. The aforementioned company is currently bound to BMW Sauber team for the rest of the 2009 season but, with the Swiss team's future in the championship yet unknown, they are looking for other opportunities to extend their F1 stay.

According to several reports, McLaren are not the only team eyeing a deal with Petronas. Williams have been consistently pushing for the FIA not to grant BMW Sauber with a 14th entry in the 2010 Formula One championship, and the hidden agenda for that seems to be a potential signing with Petronas. Several reports suggested that Williams is eying several of Sauber's sponsors for next year.

In other sponsorship related news, Renault have signed their first sponsor since the crash-gate (TW Steel), while Brawn GP inked a one-race deal with Qatar telecom company Qtel, for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Also, “Williams has paired up with Qatar's Science and Technology Park to inaugurate the locally-based Williams Technology Centre,” as reported by the GMM news agency.