Racing colors
The national colours in motorsport have their origin in the Gordon-Bennett-Cup.
Initiated by New York Herald owner James Gordon Bennett Junior and held between
1900 and 1905, it was the first international motorsports event for motor vehicles.
Three vehicles per nation were permitted, and each country was assigned its own
colour to distinguish them.
Italy : red - Alfa Romeo Type 158 1950
Great Britain : green - Lotus 43 1966
Belgium : yellow - Ferrari 512S "coda lunga" 1970
Most national colours are definitive since the 1920s, but
some of them had to be changed in the meantime. Red, initially
chosen by the USA, was famously taken over by Italy and their
hugely successful Alfa Romeo race cars. Since then, American
vehicles are white with light blue longitudinal stripes. The national colours were obligatory until 1968 when the FIA's
International Sporting Commission authorised teams to use extra-
sports sponsorship in the Formula 1 World Championship. Lotus
became the first team to abandon British Racing Green in favour of
a red, white and gold scheme of its then main sponsor.
Another example led to the birth of the famous Silver
Arrows: on 3 June 1934, the white Mercedes-Benz W25s were
sanded down to bare metal to reach the minimum weight
limit, unveiling their aluminium bodywork. Matra and Ligier were always painted French blue, Ferrari is
faithful to Italian red ever since its debut in racing, Mercedes Grand
Prix kept the typical silver colour and Jaguar Racing took over the
British Racing Green livery.
Belgium, involved in motor racing from an early age (1895)
and famous for its Spa-Francorchamps circuit, was attributed
the colour yellow. Renault used both the national blue and the brand's
traditional yellow.
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