Condoms in F1!

One of the most controversial sponsors in Formula 1, condom company Durex, sponsored the Surtees team in 1976. So controversial was it in fact, it led the BBC to pull out from early season races, so as to not offend the viewers.

John Surtees (the 1964 F1 World Champion) had his own team in 1976, and was desperately looking for some sponsoring. He thus signed with the London Rubber Company, who produced the condoms Durex!

Pictures: Alan Jones steering his Durex-livered Surtees TS19-Cosworth at the German Formula One Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

Murray Walker, the legendary commentator, remembers how the BBC decided not to broadcast the British Grand Prix a Brands Hatch, and neither the rest of the season! “For the BBC, the Durex logo was totally unacceptable for what was considered as a familial entertainment.”

Irony of this story: because of the Durex sponsoring, the BBC missed one of the most thrilling seasons of Grand Prix history, the famous duel of Niki Lauda and James Hunt.