1968 Formula One season Firestone. Team Gunston, a South African privateer team, was the first Formula One team to paint their cars in the livery of their sponsors when they entered a private Brabham for John Love, painted in the colours of Gunston cigarettes, in the 1968 South African Grand Prix. In the next round at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix 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. The second innovation was the introduction of wings as seen previously on various cars
Four-wheel drive in Formula One originally designed to compete in the 1968 Indianapolis 500 where it nearly won, but with USAC introducing a ban on gas turbines and four-wheel drive for the 1970 race, a new B variant of the car was built to Formula 1 spec with an eye to replacing the failed 63. With a Pratt & Whitney engine driving the trusty Ferguson-derived transmission without the need for a clutch or gearbox, the car made its Formula 1 debut in the 1971 Race of Champions with Emerson Fittipaldi at the wheel. He qualified seventh out of 15 runners, but retired after 33 laps