When tobacco sponsors were still very normal in Formula 1

Rothmans (Williams-Renault FW16 – 1994)

On May 1, 1994, the Williams-Renault FW16 in Rothmans livery and with starting number 2 on the nose settled in the collective memory of the world in one fell swoop. It was that car that crashed into the wall of the Tamburello corner in the leading position at a speed of close to 300 km/h on the Imola circuit, with Ayrton Senna on board

Marlboro (McLaren MP4/4 – 1988)

The M23 was the first McLaren in the 1970s to wear a red and white Marlboro jacket. The car that really made the color scheme iconic, however, was the MP4/4 with Honda-V6 and the magical driver duo Alain Prost-Ayrton Senna. The latter became world champion in 1988 with this car.

Gold Leaf (Lotus 49B – 1968)

Lotus was the first F1 racing stable to use tobacco advertising. In 1968 Graham Hill appeared at the start of the GP of Spain with a car painted in red, white and gold – the colors of Gold Leaf. A match that the Brit promptly won.

JPS (Lotus 72D – 1972)

Imperial Tobacco had a new brand and that meant that the Gold Leaf outfit was exchanged for a black suit that read ‘John Player Special’ in gold letters. Lotus kept this classy liverywhich would become one of the most legendary ever, loyal for no less than 15 (!) years.

Camel (Lotus 99T – 1987)

We cannot ignore another Lotus in this list: the car completely painted in Camel yellow with which Ayrton Senna achieved two victories in 1987. That was a year before he became world champion at McLaren. We also saw Camel as a sponsor at Benetton, Williams and Tyrrell.

Samson (Shadow DN9 – 1979)

Of course, ‘our own’ Samson Shag from Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer BV (nowadays part of British American Tobacco) should not be missing from this list. Certainly not if there is also a Dutchman behind the wheel. Unfortunately, Jan Lammers rode in the shadow of the top riders with the Shadow.

Gitanes (Ligier JS5 – 1976)

A French F1 car should have a French cigarette farmer on it, so it made sense that Gitanes blue graced Guy Ligier’s cars from its debut season in 1976 until the mid-1990s. When Ligier became Prost Grand Prix in 1997, sister brand Gauloises took the place of Gitanes.

Benson & Hedges (Jordan 198 – 1998)

This sponsor is especially with us because of the original spins that the team of the recalcitrant Eddie Jordan gave its name when tobacco advertising was banned in more and more countries. Benson & Hedges was then transformed into ‘Bitten Heroes’, ‘Buzzin Hornets’ or ‘Be On Edge’, so that you unconsciously made a link with the sponsor name.