According to reports, Budweiser will take its place as one of three major sponsors of the F1 team, alongside the computer company HP and Allianz, the German insurance company.
The 拢50m five-year deal is seen as a sign that the big money is returning to F1 -- although it is dwarfed in size by Ferrari's 拢100m three-year deal with Vodafone.
F1 has been struggling to attract big-name sponsorships since tobacco companies were banned from promoting their brands, but BMW WilliamsF1 has signed several agreements this year. In April, the team announced GlaxoSmithKline quit-smoking product NiQuitin CQ as a sponsor, in a move that was supported by healthcare charities. It has also signed deals this year with Western Union, Oris Watches and Xilinx, the computer hardware firm.
As well as the loss of tobacco sponsorship, the sport has been accused of being boring, especially because of last year's dominance of the Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, who has won a record-equalling five drivers' championships.
Meanwhile, the parcel delivery firm Businesspost has announced that it will support the British driver Ralph Firman, who is drives for rival F1 team Jordan, at the British Grand Prix, to be held at Silverstone on July 20.
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