Racing in national colours

Before the advent of commercial sponsorship in the late 1960s, Formula One cars used to race in their national colours. This tradition dated back to the turn of the twentieth century and a competition called the Gordon Bennett Cup, the direct forebear of Grand Prix racing. In this competition, teams represented each of the five participating countries in a sort of inter-nations cup event. For easy identification, each country was allocated a colour. Italy was represented by red (still seen today in the Ferrari team’s livery), France by blue, Britain by green, Germany by white, and Belgium by yellow. These colours remained an intrinsic part of the sport until corporate liveries rendered them redundant.