Star Wars, Superman and stolen diamonds: The best movie-themed F1 liveries
A look back at some of the best movie-themed F1 liveries of years gone by.
Haas’ unusual collaboration with the film studio behind Godzilla is not the first time Formula 1 teams have promoted a movie franchise via a one-off livery.
The American outfit is one of three F1 teams bringing special designs to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, the third round of the 2026 season.
Haas’s Godzilla tie-up inspired a trip down memory lane to look back through F1 history at some of the best movie-themed liveries that graced the track at grands prix in recent years…
The Force is strong with Red Bull
Red Bull ran a special Star Wars-themed livery at the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix to promote Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
The team held several promotional stunts ahead of the weekend in Star Wars-themed team kit, and there were even appearances from Stormtroopers, Chewbacca and Darth Vader in the Monte Carlo paddock.
Red Bull should have had a bad feeling about this, given David Coulthard and Vitantonio Liuzzi both failed to finish the Monaco Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s superhero showing
A year later, Red Bull showcased another one-off livery design (see main picture) to promote another blockbuster movie. This time it was the Superman Returns film in 2006.
Red Bull carried the Superman logo on its cars and had special overalls for its drivers, with Coulthard turning in a superhero-like performance to claim the team’s maiden grand prix podium in Monaco.
Coulthard went to the podium wearing the hero’s red cape, before team principal Christian Horner famously jumped into the pool wearing nothing but a cape...
Diamonds aren’t forever
A Jaguar PR stunt for Ocean’s Twelve went badly wrong at the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix.
Hollywood movie stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon were on hand to promote the film in the Principality and Jaguar sensed an opportunity for a PR coup.
Jaguar’s car featured an Ocean’s Twelve branded nose and had £140,000 diamonds mounted on top of it. But after Christian Klien crashed out of the race, one of the precious gems went missing in what remains one of F1’s biggest mysteries.
The Dark Knight Rises with Lotus
Lotus teamed up with Batman for some movie promotion after agreeing a deal with film studio Warner Bros.
Ahead of the summer release of The Dark Knight Rises, the third and concluding part of Christopher Nolan’s hugely successful Batman trilogy, Lotus promoted the film at the 2012 British Grand Prix.
The armoured tank-like Batmobile from the film series was displayed at Silverstone alongside Romain Grosjean and Kimi Räikkönen, whose E20 cars featured The Dark Knight Rises logo.
Alpine’s Marvel-lous livery
Alpine ran a one-off colour scheme at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix to mark the release of Marvel movie Deadpool & Wolverine.
Pierre Gasly and the Marvel-obsessed Esteban Ocon drove cars sporting a striking red and black livery, featuring yellow claw marks in a nod to the main characters from the film.
Actor Ryan Reynolds, who plays Deadpool, is part of a group of investors who were behind a €200m cash injection in Alpine in 2023.
Haas unleashes Godzilla in Japan
Haas unleashed its unique Godzilla-themed one-off livery for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix as part of a season-long deal with entertainment company Toho Co.
The Japanese entertainment studio owns the Godzilla movie franchise, whose film characters will star on the bold design adorning the VF-26 cars at Suzuka.
Drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon were on hand to reveal the livery design on the VF-26 at an event in Tokyo.
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