The most famous liveries in motor sports
The presentation of the new coloring is no less important than the display of the new car (no wonder many of them show the updated colors live for the first time even on the old car). In search of optimal combinations, the teams change the shades of the colors used, the location of the sponsor logos, but, alas, almost all the last livery is far from attractive to the famous tobacco tabs of the second half of the 20th century. Having received a bit of rest from new or slightly modified color schemes (the next and final presentation of Alfa Romeo is on the morning of February 18), let’s recall some of the legendary liveries of the past.
Marlboro (red and white version)
McLaren (1974-1996)
Famous racers: Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen
Ayrton Senna. 1989
Ayrton Senna. 1989
Photo: Pascal Rondeau / Allsport
It seems impossible to present Marlboro separately from Ferrari, but in fact the tobacco sponsor chose the team from Maranello as a base only in 1997. And before that for more than two decades, the main partner for Marlboro was McLaren. Perhaps the red and white livery is the most famous in F1 – not least due to the rivalry of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, who won six world titles in two colors.
Penske (1990-2009)
Famous racers: Emerson Fittipaldi, El Anzer, Jr., Paul Tracy, Gilles de Ferrand, Elio Castroneves
Elio Castroneves. year 2000
Elio Castroneves. year 2000
Photo: Robert Laberge / Allsport
Exactly the same color gamut, but in Indikar, for at least two decades, the no less legendary Penske used it. There, the livery appeared, by the way, thanks to the ex-racer “McLaren” Emerson Fittipaldi, who raced in America right up to the mid-90s. The ban on tobacco advertising in zero points forced the team to remove the Marlboro inscriptions from the sides and replace them with their own logo. In this outfit, the team traveled until the end of the 2009 season.
Marlboro (red)
Ferrari (1994-2006)
Famous racers: Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa
Michael Schumacher. year 2001
Michael Schumacher. year 2001
Photo: Mark Thompson / Allsport
Strictly speaking, the Marlboro logos appeared on the Scuderia cars also in the 70s, but until the mid-90s the influence of the sponsor on the livery was not decisive. The red color scheme became famous in the first half of the 2000s, when Michael Schumacher behind the wheel of a Ferrari won five titles in a row. It is curious that even a complete ban on tobacco advertising did not destroy the team’s connection with the Philip Morris concern – while the livery, alas, changed significantly back in 2007.
With photo leakage and matte livery. As “Ferrari” showed the car for the season-2019
Ferrari introduced the new F-1 car. Photos accidentally appeared before the presentation.
Mitsubishi (1999-2002)
Famous Riders: Tommy Mäkinen
Tommy Mäkinen. 1999
Tommy Mäkinen. 1999
Photo: Mike Hewitt / Allsport
Mitsubishi used the legendary red coloring in the WRC – colors entered the history there thanks to Flying Finn Tommy Mäkinen. And although this cooperation was short-lived (at the end of the 2002 season, the Japanese manufacturer left the championship, and Marlboro painted Peugeot), it was memorable – it was in these colors that Mäkinen took his fourth consecutive classic rally title.
“West”
Maclaren (1997-2005)
Famous riders: Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, Kimi Raikkonen, Juan-Pablo Montoya
Mika Hakkinen. year 2000
Mika Hakkinen. year 2000
Photo: Clive Mason / Allsport
The spectacular silver coloring “Vest”, in which “Maclaren” donned before the 1997 season, quickly unwound thanks to the genius of Adrian Newey – it was a sin not to win two championships on his machines Mike Hakkinen. Two more times the team in this livery was close to winning the championship already with Kimi Raikkonen – in 2003 and 2005. The same livery in MotoGP for three seasons in the early 2000s was used by the team of Sito Pons.
“John Player Special”
“Lotus” (1972-1978, 1981-1986)
Famous Riders: Emerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Peterson, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna. 1985
Ayrton Senna. 1985
Photo: Simon Miles / Getty Images
The black and gold livery of another John Player brand (or rather, a separate series of Special cigarettes) appeared in F-1 one of the first – at the very beginning of the 70s, on one of the best teams of that generation, Lotus . And in the very first season Emerson Fittipaldi became the champion. And in 1978, Mario Andretti repeated the success of the Brazilian. The legendary livery in the middle of the next decade was replaced by the yellow colors of Kemela, but that was already the sunset period of the team.
In Formula 1 showed the first car built according to the new rules
The season of presentations in Formula 1 started. Haas showed not only the new livery, but also the 2019 car itself.
“Target”
Ganassi (1996-2001, 2016)
Famous racers: Jimmy Wasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan-Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon
