Renault adds Lada sponsorship (Pictures)

Posted on

| Written by

Lada logos now appear on the Renault R30

Lada may be one of the car manufacturers you’re least likely to associate with F1 but the Russian company is set to change that having agreed a sponsorship deal with Renault.

The company’s logos will appear on the cockpit sides of the Renault R30 and on Vitaly Petrov’s overalls.

Renault owns 25% of AvtoVAZ, which manufactures Ladas. Petrov won Lada racing championships in 2002 and 2005.

Renault F1 chairman Gerard Lopez said:

Through Mangrove Capital we have been actively investing in Russia over the last years. We know the country well, we have a high degree of appreciation for it and, as such, it is an honour for our F1 team to spearhead Russia’s entry into the sport and to carry the Lada brand at the highest level of world motorsport. We look forward to an exciting and successful season together.
Gerard Lopez

The high-level involvement of a Russian car manufacturer in F1 will be music to Bernie Ecclestone’s ears – he’s been trying to establish a Russian Grand Prix for years.

Here’s how Lada’s logos will look on the R30:

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

59 comments on “Renault adds Lada sponsorship (Pictures)”

  1. I never thought I’d see the day….

    1. Sush Meerkat
      4th March 2010, 10:20

      You think thats shocking, what about Ferrari’s new Tata F10?

      1. Sush Meerkat
        4th March 2010, 10:20

        Powered by BMW I might add.

      2. Whats wrong with that?
        (Statutory Warning: I am an Indian!! :) )

      3. that TATA is for TATA Consultancy Services, the company where i worked once and one of the largest IT companies in the world…

        1. BritishRacing
          4th March 2010, 15:32

          free ads for India TaTa Group

        2. Rubel_Frm_BD
          7th March 2010, 6:03

          Not only that TATA is the owner of such brand as Jaguar, Jeep. So don’t underestimate them.

      4. Rubel_Frm_BD
        7th March 2010, 6:05

        do u have any pic of that. just post

    2. Do you think in generations to come Lada will be synonymous with racing car? Can you imagine a £100k+ supercar lada?

      1. I once called a rally car a LADA Stratos!!

    3. nice graphics qho made this pics?

  2. Sush Meerkat
    4th March 2010, 10:19

    “The company’s logos will appear on the cockpit sides of the Renault R30 and on Vitaly Petrov’s overalls.”

    Here you go Robert, your new overals….
    “no thank you”

    “Renault owns 25% of AvtoVAZ, which manufactures Ladas. Petrov won Lada racing championships in 2002 and 2005.”

    Renault also owns 25% of the Renault F1 team, anything else they also own 25% of to stick on the car?.

    1. Ned Flanders
      4th March 2010, 10:37

      Those kind of one driver deals always reminds me of pay drivers. Toyota had a similar sponsorship of Kazuki Nakajima but not Nico Rosberg

    2. I’m surprised they don’t cover half the car with Nissan stickers too.

    3. Nissan and Dacia…

      1. Dacia are owned by Renault too…. Renault Sandero & Dacia Sandero are the same… =/

        1. My thoughts exactly, They might as well say it;s powered by a Nissan Engine, has a Dacia one size fits all interior, renault badging, built in brazil for the indian market with a russian driver partnered by a pole.

          Renault have lost the plot…I think, but the Livery looks good.

          1. I always wondered why Renault never rebadged the cars as Nissan for the Asian and American markets – they could even name them ‘Infiniti’ since that brand is getting a world-wide launch now…….
            Why create such a big group as Renault-Nissan-Lada and not take the marketing opportunity?
            And remember, the ‘World Series by Renault’ used to be the ‘World Series by Nissan’….

          2. dacia is romanian built in romania!(with renault engines and backing)

  3. So now Russia have an F1 driver and the logo’s of Marussia and Lada on F1 cars.

    I hear the Russian GP calling.

    1. Works for me. Just think what a spectacle, 200,000 fans in the bleachers and on rooftops as the pack screams through the tight ess bends and chicanes in Red Square, like the stadium portion of Hockenheim.

      Now THAT I’d pay to see!

  4. At least Renault own part of Lada I suppose so it is not as if they are advertising a completely separate car company, still it does seem odd Lada sponsoring a F1 team.

    I remember when I was a kid the two car companies which seemed to be the butt of jokes were Skoda and Lada, in recent years Skoda have managed to improve the image of their brand a lot, but I wasn’t even aware that Lada were still going.

    If the Renault is poor this year I expect some to start calling it a Lada

    1. Skoda is owned by Volkwagen, hence the vast improvement in quality over the years.

      The new Skoda’s are Volkwagens essentially.

  5. Ned Flanders
    4th March 2010, 10:41

    That’s a pretty small logo. I still see a huge bulbous yellow sidepod which is just screaming ‘sponsor me!’, but I don’t suppose they’ll get much money for that if they’re as slow as they’ve looked in testing

  6. Robert McKay
    4th March 2010, 11:00

    Seems like a slightly incestuous partnership.

    Not to mention the fact both Renault and AvtoVAZ have had their fair share of Government money recently from their respective nations.

    Still, sponsor logos are hard to find at the moment. Hope Sauber have found some…

    1. J.A. Summers
      4th March 2010, 21:13

      I lol’d.

  7. Also Ferruccio Lamborghini started with tractors, i wouldn’t be surprised if Lada built a supercar someday…

    1. Mouse_Nightshirt
      4th March 2010, 11:49

      They still make tractors.

  8. eugh do not want. :(

  9. Dont forget Lada competed in the WTCC recently.

    1. Robert McKay
      4th March 2010, 12:34

      Jaap Van Lagen, Viktor Shapovalov and Kiryill Ladygin for the win!

      Oh…

      Actually they’d introduced a new car and it was starting to make them look quite respectable in some rounds. Thus perfect timing for a pull-out, in time-honoured manufacturer-misjudgement-time tradition.

  10. I guess I can see why there is derision and snobbery concerning this but it’s just a sticker on a car. It’s not like Lada are the kind evil, conniving, lying, generally destructive and detrimental company that Shell or Total are and yet no-one complains about their presence.

      1. I don;t think anyone is complaining about Lada’s presence as a symbol of what you mentioned up there. it’s just that Lada’s are the furthest possible team from motor-sport possible.

        i get a russian supercar manufacturer sticking his name on a Virgin race car, but Lada, just because it’s part owned by renualt?

        then Ferrari would stick Alfa, Lancia or now Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep for the same reason.

        it doesnt make sense. They could have funded the team in a different way, and made the Dacia Duster a Lada to compete in some other form of motorsport…

        renault F1 right now is what i call branding strategies gone wrong…

        1. It makes you wonder why Ferrari don’t have a ‘B’ team badged as ALFA or Lancia……

  11. Regarding Ferrari and Tata, it’s abit different seeing as Tata isn’t simply an automobile manufacturer unlike Lada. Infact according to wiki it’s “Tata consultancy services” which sponsor Ferrari rather than “Tata Motors”

    Just thought I’d chime in with that

    1. +1
      Also just to point out here, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) does have a link with Ferrari, providing software support to them. TCS has a project running with DUCATI as well.

      And being a TCSer for almost 6 years now it indeed feels great for me!! :)

    2. KilledBDeath
      4th March 2010, 14:09

      Tata also owns range rover/jaguar so i think they have a place on an f1 car.

      1. completely agree. don’t see why people always have to have such strong opinions against what is really something that’s fine.

        1. *edit* replied to K.

          1. TATA are a major conglomerate, so you can’t really consider them as you box standard car manufacturer like Lada.

            TATA’s involvement with Ferrari is via their IT division.

            TATA is a brand name, so they’re advertising their brand.

            You never know, since TATA own Jaguar, would they be inclined to fund a team in the near future? With the Indian GP on the way, anything is possible.

  12. But Ferrari has a fiat sticker on its nose (at least they had during previous season to my knowledge). Isn’t it more or less similar?

    1. this was only during the years they were friends with FIA(T) ;-)

  13. Hahaha LADA ????? Wow, boys ….. very funny thing !

  14. what next..

    Sokda F1 :p

  15. I drove a few Ladas in the past – hope the R30 will be a wee bit more reliable and big-time better performing and handling than a Lada :-) Never thought I’d see a VAZ on the F1 tracks :-)

    1. the good thing about lada is that when it breaks down(and they do break down) you can just fix it on the roadside and continue your trip after half an hour… try that with a reanult… :)

      1. this would be a whole new pitlane show – change a crankshaft and tune valves in less than 5 minutes :-)

  16. Too bad towing isn’t allowed in F1…

  17. What do you call a Lada at the top of a hill…???
    A MIRACLE!!!!

    What do you call a Lada convertible?
    A SKIP!

    Did you hear about the bloke who had his Lada broken into?
    The thieves put him in a radio!

    How do you make a Lada worth twice as much?
    You fill up the gas tank!!!!!

    Why is the Lada’s rear window heated?
    So the hands of the people pushing it will not freeze!!

    How do you make a Lada disappear?
    You spray it with rust remover!!!!!!!

    :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

    I’m here all week you guys!! :P

  18. Here’s another one…

    What’s the difference between a Lada and a golf ball?
    You can drive a golf ball 200 metres!!!!!!

    HA HA HA!!!!!
    :D :D

    God, I’m easily amused. :P

  19. I know everyone is saying that the HRT car has its front wheel on backwards – but by that same measure, so does this Renault.

  20. Ah more accurately it should be “Lada logos now appear on the Renault R29 painted as an R30″…. :D

  21. Let’s hope Renault will perform better than the Ladas…

  22. This is just another example of how F1 drivers are kept in their seats because of sponsors.

    An example would be Nakajima & Williams. Williams couldnt get rid of the terrible Japanese driver because of the Toyota engine deal. He took up space & was the worst performing driver of 2009.

    Now we have Petrov & lada with the Russian prime ministers backing… plus an entire country behind him. A country that spans half of the globe…

    If Petrov doesn’t pick his pace up then… he’s another f1 reject.

    How can someone get to FORMULA 1 in 9 years…. driving Ladas………. its a joke isnt it?

  23. Good for Renault,& too for Bernie who wanted to have an race in Russia.May be in 2012 if not in 2011.

  24. I love the Lada Niva and always have loved it. TheLogo thing isnoting really.I think its good news. I want to see more Lada in Australia.

  25. Why do I want to chuckle. Who would have ever thought the Lada name would be on a F1 car…

Comments are closed.