1970s F1 Sponsors Trivia Quiz

Answer: Parmalat

Yardley sponsored BRM in 1970 and 1971, before leaving to sponsor McLaren.
Marlboro sponsored BRM in 1972 and 1973, then they also left to sponsor McLaren.
Motul sponsored BRM in 1974, and after their withdrawal the team was left with virtually no sponsorship for 1975.
Parmalat was not an F1 sponsor until 1978, the year after BRM's final race before folding.

Answer: Tissot

Ensign, which ran Clay Regazzoni and Patrick Tambay, had Tissot sponsorship in 1977 and managed to score 10 points. Tissot remained with Ensign for two seasons, and then pulled out of F1 after 1983. They returned in 1994 with Sauber after the team's previous sponsor failed to pay up. Ensign stayed in F1 until 1982, although they struggled the last few seasons and were never able to recreate the success they had in 1977.

Answer: Skol

Warsteiner sponsored the Arrows A2 driven by Riccardo Patrese and Jochen Mass.
Saudia Airlines sponsored the Williams FW07 driven by Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni.
Olympus sponsored the Wolf WR7 driven by James Hunt and Keke Rosberg.
Skol (a Brazilian beer) did not enter F1 until 1980 when they sponsored Fittipaldi.

Answer: One

Ligier had the same title sponsor, Gitanes, for 17 of their 21 seasons in F1. Gitanes sponsored Ligier every season between 1976 and 1995 (while Gitanes still sponsored the team, Loto was the title sponsor between 1987 and 1989) before parent company SEITA decided to concentrate on their Gauloises brand in 1996. Alain Prost bought Ligier after the 1996 season and SEITA continued their sponsorship with the team until 2000.

Answer: Hill

Starting in 1973, Imperial Tobacco sponsored Hill with their Embassy brand. Embassy was Hill's title sponsor until team owner Graham Hill, driver Tony Brise, and designer Andy Smallman were killed in a plane crash in 1975. The team was shut down soon after the crash.

Answer: Alexander Hesketh

Lord Alexander Hesketh, the third Baron Hesketh of Hesketh, inherited a lot of money when he turned 21. He decided to spend it on an F1 team, and the Hesketh team made their debut in 1973 with James Hunt behind the wheel. In 1975 most of Hesketh's (which was affectionately known as Teddy Bear Racing because of their mascot) fortune was spent and he set a deadline to find sponsorship.

The deadline passed without any deals and pulled the team out of F1, selling the cars to Walter Wolf. In 1976 Anthony Horsley found sponsorship from Penthouse and Rizla and the Hesketh team was back in F1, although without Lord Hesketh.

Answer: Candy

Elf had sponsored Tyrrell beginning when they were still part of the Matra International team, and stayed with them until 1978. First National Bank sponsored Tyrrell in 1977 and 1978, pulling out at around the same time Elf did. Candy (which made household appliances and had nothing to do with sweets) then became the team's title sponsor, and remained with them before leaving to sponsor Toleman after 1980. Denim Musk sponsored Tyrrell for one season (1982) before Benetton became the title sponsor in 1983.

Answer: Rothmans

In 1971 privateer owner Rob Walker decided to join forces with Surtees and brought sponsorship from British teamaker Brooke Bond Oxo with him. This deal lasted until the company withdrew from F1 after 1973.
Matchbox sponsored Surtees in 1974 and 1975, which was a low point in the team's history. Driver Mark Donohue was killed in the 1975 Austrian GP and teammate John Watson left to join Penske after the race. Surtees was not seen again that season.
Surtees then recieved backing from Beta Tools in 1977 and 1978, which came with Italian driver Vittorio Brambilla.
Rothmans did not enter F1 until 1982 with March.

Answer: Tecno

Martini & Rossi, which made vermouth, became involved in racing in 1968 and by 1972 was interested in sponsoring an F1 team. David Yorke, their motor racing consultant, suggested Brabham. Martini ignored the advice and decided to sponsor Tecno instead, and by 1973 the team was renamed Martini Racing.

The team fell apart in the middle of the season, and Martini eventually took Yorke's advice, sponsoring Brabham between 1975 and 1977.

Answer: Two

Two companies, Yardley and Marlboro, sponsored McLaren right after their deals with BRM expired. After being BRM's title sponsor in 1970 and 1971, Yardley moved to McLaren in 1972, and was their title sponsor for two seasons.
Marlboro ditched BRM for McLaren after the 1973 season, although the team ran a third car for Mike Hailwood that still had Yardley backing in 1974. The team's deal with Marlboro lasted until 1996, when West became McLaren's new title sponsor.