Thanks to its 600 million unique viewers and an annual cumulative audience of 8.7 billion worldwide, Formula 1™ represents the best global platform for unified branding and international positioning for Banco Santander. In 2010, Santander became an official sponsor of Ferrari, who have in their ranks Spanish driver Fernando Alonso, two-time world champion, and Brazilian Felipe Massa, world championship runner-up in 2008.

The Formula 1&trade sponsorship carried out by the Bank since 2007 illustrates the global reach of this sport, as it enabled the Santander brand to be recognised worldwide in a short period of time. In 2010, Santander ranked third financial brand in terms of valuation, with USD 25.576 billion, according to the Top 500 Banking Brands listing made by the consultancy Brand Finance and published by The Banker.

The sponsorship of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and some of the most important Grand Prix began in 2007. In 2010, Santander will be title sponsor of the England, Germany and Italy GP, and will have a large presence in Spain, Europe and Brazil.

Thanks to the sponsorship of the British Grand Prix and the success of the “local hero” and world champion Lewis Hamilton, Santander is a fully recognised and highly prestigious brand in the UK. Specifically, Santander’s name recognition in the UK has risen from 20% to 82%. The Bank has extended its sponsorship with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ drivers to 2010, which will contribute to increase the brand’s reach in the UK at the same time as the Group’s businesses (Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley) integrate under the Santander name.

Santander formed a long-term partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, starting in the 2007 season. That year it also took title sponsorship of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, followed by title sponsorship of the German and Italian Grands Prix.

As a global sport that represents the pinnacle of technical excellence, Formula 1&trade is perfectly aligned with Santander’s key values of leadership, dynamism, innovation and strength.

In 2009 Santander was pleased to announce an extension of its F1™ activities by becoming title sponsor of the most successful team of all time, Scuderia Ferrari.

“The partnership with Scuderia Ferrari is much more than a sponsorship,” said Santander President Emilio Botín. “It’s an alliance between winners.”