Amul to sponsor Swiss F1 team at Indian Grand Prix

Asia's largest dairy brand, Amul, today said it would be the official partner of Switzerland-headquartered Sauber F1 team at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, scheduled to begin from October 28.

The Amul logos will appear on the rear wing, front face and the drivers' helmets. The Sauber F1 Team's race drivers in 2011 are Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez.

"We welcome Sauber F1 Team to the first ever F1 Grand Prix to be held in India. Amul's vision of success through teamwork, technology, speed and innovation matches the core values of Formula 1," Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) Managing Director RS Sodhi said.

This is the second big sponsorship by GCMMF this year for brand promotion. Earlier this year, it had sponsored the Netherlands cricket team in the ICC World cup.

The Sauber F1 Team is pleased to announce Amul as an official partner at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, a statement from Peter Sauber-founded company PP Sauber AG said.

"We are proud that we can announce this partnership with Amul, one of India's leading brands," Chief Executive of the Sauber F1 Team, Monisha Kaltenborn, said in a statement.

PP Sauber AG was founded in 1970, for the design and construction of racing sportscars. In 1988, Sauber became the Mercedes works team in the sportscar world championship.

The Sauber Team has been participating in Formula 1 since 1993. In 2007 the team finished second in the constructors world championship, and in 2008 Robert Kubica won the Canadian Grand Prix ahead of his team mate Nick Heidfeld.

GCMMF, which markets its dairy products under the brand Amul, is amongst India's largest product marketing organisations.

Amul's dairy products such as butter, cheese, ice cream, fresh milk, yogurt, milk powder, flavoured milk, ghee, paneer (cottage cheese) are sold in nearly 3,000 towns in India and 40 countries in the world. Its annual sales in 2010-2011 stood at USD 2.2 billion.