So you may have seen 2009 Champion Jenson Button advertising Milk on the side of a bus recently. But by no means is it a rare thing to see drivers advertising various things.
Over the years, advertising has become a huge part of Formula One and below are the top ten F1 adverts. Enjoy.
10. Fernando Alonso – ING.
Here’s an ING advert from 2008 that features Fernando Alonso… or does it?
9. Heikki Kovalainen – Fonecta.
This recent advert for a Finnish Telephone company features Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen and his father. It is one of the biggest commercials ever made in Finland
8. James Hunt – Texico.
Here’s 1976 World Champion James Hunt in a Texico advert with British comedy duo Morecombe and Wise.
7. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello -Vodafone.
Vodafone released a Ferrari mobile phone game back in 2002, making you feel like part of the team. It features Ferrari team mates Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.
6. The Guardian.
This advert for The Guardian show the F1 driver merry go-round with a game of musical chairs. No proper F1 drivers feature in this advert but it’s still a great one.
5. Michael Schumacher – Shell.
This Shell commercial features Michael Schumacher pretending to be a wax-work in a petrol station, much to the shock of German shoppers.
4. Mark Webber – Canberra Milk.
Here’s Mark Webber singing about Milk. He’s not the best singer in the world as you can hear. He did donate the money from the advert to charity though.
3. Damon Hill and Murray Walker – Pizza Hut.
A classic advert for Pizza Hut with 1996 World Champion Damon Hill with the legendary Murray Walker commentating during their meal.
2. Ferrari – Shell.
Another Shell advert, this time featuring classic Ferrari’s racing on public roads. F1 fans will be happy as there’s no music, just the awesome sound of the engines.
1. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes-Benz.
With the Alonso and Hamilton partnership at boiling point, Mercedes aired this hilarious advert of the two McLaren guys trying to beat each other at everything. Little did they know, not long after, the famous Hungary pit incident happened. After that I don’t remember seeing it again…
Got an idea for a Top Ten? Let me know via comments, Twitter or Facebook.