Now it’s the money game

1950: The only backers were tyre and oil companies, such as Shell, who supplied products in exchange for logos on overalls. The first commercial sponsor came in 1968 when Lotus signed a £85,000-a-year deal with Imperial Tobacco. In 1950 drivers got a cut of prize money, to a maximum of £10,000-a-year.

2019: World champions Mercedes’ sponsorship deals with a dozen companies are worth approximately £120million annually. Lewis Hamilton adds £10m in personal endorsements to his £40m salary.