Santander Chairman Emilio Botín, whose company sponsors McLaren and Ferrari, has died aged 79.
Santander, which steadily grew from a small domestic bank to become the biggest of its kind in Europe, made its first step into the world of Formula 1 as a sponsor of McLaren when Fernando Alonso joined the team in 2007.
Botín enjoyed close ties with Alonso and, when the latter switched to Ferrari in 2010, he transferred his backing.
But Santander remains a sponsor of both the McLaren and Ferrari teams, and their drivers, moving forward.
“Everyone at McLaren is shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Emilio Botín,” said McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis in a statement published on the team’s official website. “Passionate and charming, he was firm but always fair. I feel privileged to have known him, and proud to be able to call him a friend.”