Emirates Airline has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Formula One Racing to become a global partner with the sport. The deal reported to be worth $200 million, was announced jointly at the Emirates Airlines headquarters today by the Emirates Group chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. The formula one chief Ecclestone said it would be a natural thing to do for Emirates Airline to buy or launch an F1 team. The Dubai airliner had sponsored the McLaren F1 team in 2006. Under the deal, Emirates will sponsor a total of 15 races each year, beginning with the Malaysia Grand Prix on March 22-24. The agreement is initially for five years, but excludes races which already have prominent airline sponsors, including Abu Dhabi, Monaco, Melbourne and Bahrain.