GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: Monty on July 28, 2020, 01:08:36 PM
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Gulf and McLaren are partners again! It will be great to see the Gulf colours back on the Grand Prix scene.
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I had no idea that Gulf was owned by an Indian conglomerate.
I do like to see larger companies getting involved in F1 though. Makes me feel like the sport is 'secure'.
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I didn't know that either, Jeri. I just know that I haven't seen a Gulf station around these parts in a long, long time.
The sports car version has to be the most iconic paint scheme in racing, even more than Ferrari red.
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From what I know of the Gulf Oil history it is a sad story of 'how the mighty fall'.
Gulf was really successful because it developed oil fields in Kuwait almost on its own. In its 60's and 70's heyday it was synonymous with motor sport and aviation. The problem was that the Kuwait Government had share options that they exercised in the late 1970's leaving Gulf with next to nothing.
A mixture of bad decisions and some dodgy dealings from major executives further weakened the brand until they decided they needed to make a big acquisition to grow market share. They went head to head with T. Boone Pickens to acquire Citgo. The fight increased the share price of Citgo massively and when Gulf finally won the battle they realised that the couldn't afford the acquisition and reneged on the buyout deal. This damaged the brand and resulted in many years of lawsuits.
I think various steps were taken to refinance. I know Shell had control of Gulf for some time and Total also had ownership of the brand. After a torrid few years there were two 'Brand Owners'.
Gulf Oil International owns the rights to the Gulf brand outside the United States and it is this business that is now owned by the Hinduja Group of India.
Gulf Oil Limited Partnership based in Framingham, Massachusetts owns the rights in the USA and I think they are all about sales of oil based products rather than production.
I took interest when Gulf Oil International started to provide 'Gulf' sponsorship of some European motor sport teams and particularly the Aprilia MotoGP Racing Team in 2019.
It is definitely not Gulf Oil Limited Partnership providing sponsorship for McLaren because pictures of the McLaren F1 car are all over the Gulf Oil International Corporate web site.
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My family owned a Gulf service station. When Gulf was absorbed into Petro Canada in the 80s*, the station stopped selling gasoline, and is now a mechanic's shop run by a cousin of mine.
(*Petro Canada was absorbed by Sunoco in the 2010s. Sunoco operates under the Petro Canada brand name)
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Petro Canada also swallowed up Pacific 66 when they arrived on scene. It stated as a totally Canadian Govt venture and p*ssed off many of the large oil companies as they all felt the government had no business being in business.
For many years the two Petro Canada Oil towers were the tallest structures in Calgary, just to remind everyone who had the deepest pockets.