The ‘throwback Weekend’ Is Back In Fashion. But It’s A Flawed Concept

Spain’s two top football divisions gave fans a nostalgic treat with their first ever ‘Jordana retro’ last weekend.

Over four days, 38 of the 42 clubs competed in special kits evoking their past designs. The league matched the look with classic-style television graphics, special kits for pitch officials and retro match balls.

The idea has been tried across other sports, including Australia’s Football League and National Rugby League. In motorsport, NASCAR introduced a ‘throwback weekend’ as far back as 2015, but changed the format this year as fewer and fewer teams were prepared to re-sticker their cars in retro colour schemes.

The suggestion Formula 1 could try a similar concept has been floated in the past. But it increasingly looks like an idea which has run its course, and it seems better suited to sports like football than motor racing.

Artwork for La Liga's 'Jornada Retro' — Artwork for La Liga’s ‘Jornada Retro’

No doubt some F1 teams have rich seams of history to mine when it comes to old-style liveries. Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Mercedes have all run old-style liveries in recent seasons.

For others the idea would be more of a stretch. Red Bull have 20 years of largely similar liveries to draw on; Haas just 10 (though this didn’t stop them reviving their dreary original livery at one race last year).

Aston Martin have their brief original involvement in F1 to recall. But Audi, Alpine and Cadillac would presumably have to resort to adapting liveries from their past involvements in other racing series, stretching the idea of a ‘retro F1’ weekend somewhat. Racing Bulls would presumably dress their cars in the Toro Rosso livery Sebastian Vettel scored his first grand prix victory in.

But would the effort be justified by a resulting increase in interest? F1 teams’ attempts at retro liveries are often dissatisfying.

Previously, they have been hamstrung to an extent by the need to reduce the amount of paint or stickers on their cars to save weight. That has been addressed this year by new regulations requiring teams to ensure coverage of a minimum percentage of their bare chassis.

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But the real challenge lies in incorporating the demands of today’s sponsors alongside a previous look created for other brands. Compare the clean look of the 2002 Williams with the team’s attempt to recreate the same look last year:

The idea works best when a team is showcasing a sponsor which is known for previous involvements in motor racing, such as McLaren’s celebrated 2001 Monaco Grand Prix livery featuring Gulf. But creating an arrangement for all 11 teams on the same weekend is not realistic.

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Some aspects of La Liga’s retro weekend would be more achievable and potentially positive for F1, such as bringing back F1’s old-school graphics. A simpler look to the television broadcasts – and the return of timing to three decimal points which has been partially removed this year – would surely be welcomed by many.

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, Monaco — McLaren’s 2021 Monaco Grand Prix livery was a hit

Could F1 create classic-style trackside furniture to mimic La Liga’s heritage football? A full Goodwood Revival approach obviously wouldn’t be possible due to safety considerations.

Perhaps F1 could find elements of the circuit infrastructure to apply a ‘classic’ look to. These would need to be noticed often enough in the television broadcasts to be worthwhile. Styling tyre walls to look like hay bales wouldn’t, repainting kerbs might, though this has already happened at some tracks.

This highlights the biggest challenge of all to creating this kind of event for F1: when and where could it hold one?

Many race promoters pay F1 huge sums because they want to bring attention to their regions. This has become more direct in recent years – think of last year’s post-race light and fountain show after the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Race promoters don’t necessarily want the focus drawn elsewhere. This is less of a consideration for a football league, where multiple rounds take place at the same venue throughout a season.

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NASCAR, Darlington, 2015 — NASCAR held its first ‘throwback’ race over a decade ago

A ‘retro’ weekend would be purely a marketing exercise of no consequence to the sport. But promotion is what Liberty Media excel at, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did decide to tackle it.

Drivers and teams have already discovered there is significant demand for special editions of their teamwear. If there’s more money to be made by organising a one-off ‘retro grand prix’, then it is probably a matter of when, not if, that happens.

But NASCAR’s experiment with the concept indicated it has a limited shelf life. The last time it attempted one, fewer than half of the teams were participating. ‘Throwback weekends’, ironically enough, appear to belong in the past.