In , McLaren signed a seven-year contract with telecommunications company Vodafone, and became known as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. The arrangement was due to last until , although the team announced at the 2013 Australian Grand Prix that their partnership would conclude at the end of the season. Despite explaining the decision to conclude the sponsorship as being a result of Vodafone's desire to reconsider its commercial opportunities, it was later reported that the decision to run the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix in spite of an ongoing civil uprising and protests against the race, and Vodafone's inability to remove their logos from the McLaren cars during the race as being a key factor in the decision to terminate the sponsorship. Diageo-owned whisky brand Johnnie Walker, an associate sponsor since 2005, offered to take over as title sponsor at the end of 2013, but their offer of £43m was turned down by McLaren chairman Ron Dennis, who believed it to be "too small."