Sponsorship liveries in Formula One
| Formula One |
|---|
| Current season summary |
| Related articles |
|
History of Formula One |
| Lists |
|
Drivers |
| Records |
Sponsorship liveries in Formula One have been used since the late 1960's, replacing the previously used national colours. With sponsors becoming more important with the rising costs in Formula One, many teams wanted to be able to display the logos of their sponsors as clearly as possible.
The liveries are usually changed for every season in the sport, marking the marketing ideas of the sponsors. Many teams keep some consistency over the years however, like the red colour of Ferrari, which has its origin in a shade of red known as rosso corsa being the national racing colour of Italy.
At historical events, cars are allowed to use the livery which was used when the car was actively competing.[1]
BMW
After having been an engine supplier in the 1980s and again since 2000, BMW entered Formula One with a works team of its own in 2006. Although the cars have many sponsorship logos on them, the main pattern is based on the traditional BMW Motorsport team colours of white with light blue, dark blue and a little red (in an almost purple shade). White is also the original national racing colour of Germany, while white and blue are the colours of Bavaria and of BMW itself.
| Year | Main colour(s) | Additional colour(s) | Main sponsor(s) | Major additional sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–2007 | White | Blue, red | Petronas, Intel | Credit Suisse, Syntium |
Ferrari
In keeping with their Italian roots, Ferrari has always kept a red colour in the tradition of rosso corsa, the national racing colour of Italy, except for two races in 1964 when Enzo Ferrari let his cars enter by NART in American blue and white colours to protest against Italian racing authorities. Over the years, rosso corsa has been combined with white parts and with various sponsorship schemes, but Ferrari has never fully let their cars be dominated by the sponsorship livery like many other teams have.
| Year | Main colour(s) | Additional colour(s) | Main sponsor(s) | Major additional sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–2007 | Red | White or black | Marlboro (Altria Group), Vodafone (2002–2006) | Shell, FIAT |
Honda
After having been an engine supplier in the 1980s and again since 2001, Honda entered into a joint partnership with BAR. It bought out the remaining team in 2005 and entered Formula One with a works team of its own in 2006. For the 2006, Honda continued with the BAT sponsorship with the Lucky Strike logo, but after BAT pulled out for 2007, Honda were unable to find a new sponsor. The livery for the 2007 is a giant image of the earth positioned on the car. The only logos on the car are the Honda badge, and the Bridgestone badge.
| Year | Main colour(s) | Additional colour(s) | Main sponsor(s) | Major additional sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | White | Red | British American Tobacco | Intercond |
| 2007 | Blue | Green | None | None |
Lotus
Lotus was the first team to abandon the national colour system when the possibility to do so was created in 1968. Lotus also had one of the longest sponsorship cooperations in Formula One history, making the black and gold of its 1972–1986 John Player Special seasons one of the most well known liveries to this day.
| Year | Main colour(s) | Additional colour(s) | Livery sponsor(s) | Additional major sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–1971 | Red and white | Gold | Gold Leaf (Imperial Tobacco) | |
| 1972–1978 | Black | Gold | John Player Special (Imperial Tobacco) | Olympus (1978) |
| 1979 | British racing green | Red, white and blue | Martini | Tissot |
| 1980 | Dark blue | Red and white | Essex | Tissot |
| 1981–1986 | Black | Gold | John Player Special (Imperial Tobacco) | Essex, Tissot, Courage (1981); Olympus (1985); DeLonghi (1986) |
| 1987–1990 | Yellow | Blue | Camel | DeLonghi (1987); Epson (1989) |
| 1991–1992 | Green | White (1991); Yellow (1992) | BP | Hitachi, Tamiya |
| 1993–1994 | Green, white and red | Black and yellow | Castrol | Hitachi, Tamiya |
McLaren
| Year | Main colour(s) | Additional colour(s) | Livery sponsor(s) | Additional major sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–1997 | Red and white | Marlboro (Altria Group) | TAG Group | |
| 1998–2005 | Silver | Black | West (Imperial Tobacco) | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2006–2007 | Silver | Red | Vodafone (2007), Emirates (2006), Johnnie Walker | Mercedes-Benz |
Notes and References
- ^ Appendix K to the International sporting code, section 2.1.10
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
