A bigger Tyrrell involvement for Korean Air?

THE loss Nokia sponsorship has been a big blow for the Tyrrell team, but it does open up the possibilities for the team to find a big new sponsor - or convince its existing sponsors to increase their involvement.

Many F1 marketing men will say that selling sections of a car to sponsors is a lot more difficult than selling the whole machine, and we believe that Tyrrell is making a big effort to convince Korean Air to take over the team's title sponsorship.

Korean Air started in F1 earlier this year with a small involvement with the now-defunct Simtek operation. When Nick Wirth's team shut down after the Monaco Grand Prix, Korean Air transferred its allegiance to Tyrrell.

A bigger F1 involvement would certainly make a lot of sense for Korean Air as it is one of the world's fastest-growing airlines and is trying to break into a wider international market. The company is now the 10th largest passenger carrier in the world, serving 70 cities. It also has a thriving aerospace business, which includes producing helicopters under license for US companies and jets for the Korean military. As an idea of the growth involved, Korean Air's profits jumped 215% in 1994.

The Tyrrell marketing team have been concentrating hard on Korea in recent months and a large delegation from Korean Air attended the Japanese GP at Suzuka in October.

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