Formula 1 is not just about racing, money is a big part of the sport. And a lot of that money comes from several big sponsors. But which sponsors are the greatest? Here’s a list!
Rolex
Rolex is definitely one of the bigger brands in F1. Rolex branding is visible at every race. The brand breathes innovation, luxury, and perfection. Three characteristics that are without doubt also a massive part of Formula 1. We would definitely miss the Rolex clock at the beginning of every session if they ever decided to stop sponsoring F1!
Martini
Martinis has been a big sponsor for ages until they decided to move out of the sport at the end of the 2018 season. The ‘Martini-stripes’ make for the best liveries on racecars and especially on F1 cars. For some reason, it seems like F1 cars are even quicker with those stripes. Unfortunately, they decided to leave the sport, but we are sure they will make a comeback day! One can only hope!
Marlboro
One of the most controversial brands but also a missed one. Whether it’s the 80’s/90’s McLarens or the great Marlboro Ferrari liveries, every F1 fanatic knows them very well. Unfortunately, tobacco branding is not allowed anymore, but Marlboro has found several loopholes over the years so they can keep sponsoring F1.
Philip Morris has launched Mission Winnow in 2018 to promote Iqos, an e-smoking device. This is legal, however, in some countries, they need to drop the Mission Winnow branding because of stricter regulations. When you take a good look at the Mission Winnow logo, you might notice it looks familiar. The arrows might remind you of the Marlboro packaging, which is likely the reason why Mission Winnow was launched in the first place.
Red Bull
Red Bull is best known for Red Bull Racing and the four WCC’s and WDC’s which they earned between 2010 and 2013. However, what many people don’t know is that Red Bull’s founder Dieter Mateschitz was already working on sponsoring F1 in 1985, two years before Red Bull was even launched. He approached Gerhard Berger in 1985 asking if he could sponsor him, although he didn’t have a product yet and even didn’t have the money. But when Red Bull launched he called him again and said: “Hello, this is mister Mateschitz, do you remember I wanted to sponsor you?” Not long after, Berger had the Red Bull logo on his helmet.
Nowadays it owns two Formula one teams, one of them being Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, one of the three big teams, together with Mercedes and Ferrari. They have given us many talents in autosport, like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. And we cannot imagine F1 without Red Bull anymore.
Shell
Shell has profited from the glory days of Ferrari with Michael Schumacher and nowadays Shell is still a big part of F1. They still sponsor Ferrari and are inextricably linked with Formula 1. If you fuel up your car at Shell it is hard not to imagine doing a pitstop.