Castrol is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The name Castrol was originally just the brand name for company's motor oils, but the company eventually changed its name to Castrol when the product name became better-known than the original company name CC Wakefield. Since 2000, Castrol Limited has been a subsidiary of BP, which acquired the company for $4.73 billion. History The "Wakefield Oil Company" was founded by Charles Wakefield in 1899. Wakefield had previously left a job at Vacuum Oil to start a new business in London, selling lubricants for trains and heavy machinery. The company launched its first lubricant in 1906. The new business was established in Cheapside in London to commercialise lubricants for trains and other heavy machinery. Eight former Vacuum Oil employees joined Wakefield in his new company. In early 20th. century, Wakefield Co. developed lubricants especially suited for automobiles and aeroplanes. The brand "Castrol" originated after researchers added measured amounts of castor oil (a vegetable oil derived from castor beans) to their lubricant formulations. By 1960, the name of the motor oil had eclipsed the company's name itself so "CC Wakefield & Company" became "Castrol Limited". In 1966, Castrol was acquired by company Burmah Oil, which was renamed "Burmah-Castrol". Burmah-Castrol was purchased by London-based multinational BP (then, "BP Amoco plc") in 2000. At the time of purchase, Burmah-Castrol had a turnover of nearly £3 billion with operating profits of £284 million. The company also had 18,000 employees worldwide, with operations in 55 countries. Respectively, BP Amoco had 80,400 employees worldwide and revenues of more than £63 billion. While Burmah's operations folded into the group, Castrol has remained as a subsidiary of BP. On 28 February 2023, Castrol unveiled the new logo for the first time in 17 years, aimed at better reflecting its unique positioning in the market and the opportunities it sees in meeting the changing needs of customers. Sponsorship Motorsport The brand has been involved in Formula One for many years, supplying to a number of teams, including McLaren (1979–1980 and 2017–2020), Williams (1997–2005), Team Lotus (1992–1993), Brabham (1983–1984), Jaguar (2000–2004), Renault/Alpine (2017–present) and Walter Wolf Racing. Castrol has sponsored the Ford World Rally Team and M-Sport in the World Rally Championship since 2003, and the Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT factory team from 2016,