The History of Colors in Racing: Surprising Sponsorships

Sponsorship has taken center stage even in ways that go against its mission. The most famous instance occurred in 2001 when Ferrari, with World Champion Michael Schumacher, won at Monza with no sponsor logos. At Schumacher's request, in respect for the many innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks, Ferrari removed all sponsors from cars and suits, leaving only one contrasting mark against the red: a black nose as a sign of mourning.

The 2001 Italian Grand Prix took place just five days after the 9/11 attacks. Ferrari started the race with no sponsors and a black nose on the car to honor the victims.

In another unique case, Ferrari was tied to the "sponsorship" of a Corvette. In 1972, the North American Racing Team (NART), Ferrari's U.S. importer known for its yellow Prancing Horse logo against an American flag backdrop, entered a Corvette in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside several Ferraris. Ideally, it would have borne no Ferrari symbols, but the Automobile Club de l'Ouest required NART's registered cars to display their official team livery. The Corvette, sporting Ferrari's colors, finished the race in an unusual sighting at Le Mans.

A muscle car in Ferrari livery? At the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, NART, led by Luigi Chinetti, entered a Corvette as a reserve car, which, by regulation, had to wear the team's colors. It finished the race in 15th place.

Among eccentric sponsorships, the Jaguar Formula 1 car stands out. At the Monaco Grand Prix, in collaboration with the film Ocean's Twelve, two real diamonds were set on the cars of Marc Webber and Christian Klien. Klien crashed on lap 1, and when his car returned to the pits, the diamond was missing – never recovered. A heist-like scene without the culprit.

In the 2004 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, Jaguar cars sported two diamonds, thanks to a sponsorship from Ocean's Twelve. After Klien's crash, the diamond vanished, making for a cinematic twist!

In another movie-related moment, Red Bull and George Lucas celebrated the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith in 2005 by dressing the Red Bull mechanics as stormtroopers. The cars also featured a themed livery.

To mark the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Red Bull mechanics at the 2005 Monaco GP dressed as stormtroopers from Palpatine’s Imperial army.

As for music, in 1981, Slim Borgudd, a musician who had drummed for ABBA, brought a large ABBA sticker onto his Formula 1 ATS car, which drew media interest.

In 1981, Slim Borgudd, a former ABBA drummer, put the band’s name on his ATS Formula 1 car, grabbing media attention.

More recently, the controversial OnlyFans platform, which lets creators share paid video and photo content, began sponsoring various motorsport teams and drivers. This digital investment highlights the motorsport industry's influence in advertising.

OnlyFans, the subscription-based content-sharing platform, entered motorsports in 2022 by sponsoring the GT Team Enduro, underlining motorsport's marketing reach.