Intel will take the place of Imperial Tobacco-owned brand West as the primary sponsor of the McLaren F1 team car.
The length of the contract is not known, although it is thought that Intel has committed to at least two years.
Intel's decision to sign with McLaren ends the brand's association with the Toyota F1 team, with which it has been a secondary sponsor for the past two seasons.
The introduction of the ban on tobacco advertising at the majority of F1 races midway through the 2005 season has led to West not renewing its contract with McLaren, which ended after the final race of the 2005 season.
The deal marks Intel's first major sponsorship of F1 after experimenting with lower-level deals with Williams and Toyota.
Intel's deal is the second major sponsorship boost to the McLaren team this year, and follows the signing of Diageo whisky brand Johnnie Walker as a secondary sponsor in a £15m-a-year contract in February.
Sponsorship of Formula One teams is currently in a state of flux, with many teams trying to attract new backers to replace outgoing tobacco brands following the ban on tobacco advertising.
Honda Racing F1 team recently announced that it is seeking a title sponsor for the 2007 season to replace Lucky Strike (Marketing, 7 December).
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