Team Gunston became the first Formula One team to implement sponsorship brands as a livery on their Brabham car, which privately entered for John Love in orange, brown and gold colours of Gunston cigarettes in the first race of the 1968 season, the 1968 South African Grand Prix, on 1 January 1968. In the next race, the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix, Team Lotus became the first works team to follow this example, with Graham Hill's Lotus 49B entered in the red, gold and white colors of Imperial Tobacco's Gold Leaf brand. With rising costs in Formula One, sponsors becoming more important and thus liveries reflected the teams' sponsors.
The introduction of sponsorship brands as car livery designs marked a significant turning point in Formula One history, as seen when Gunston Team became the first to implement this approach at the 1968 South African Grand Prix on January 1, 1968. This trend was soon followed by Team Lotus with their entry in red, gold, and white Imperial Tobacco Gold Leaf colors.