Nation mourns Ratan Tata's demise: India's biggest Formula 1 fan who sponsored many teams including Ferrari

Ratan Tata was one of India's biggest national icons and industrialists. Many entrepreneurs consider him an idol for their business leadership. Sadly, Mr Ratan Tata is no longer with us and India is mourning his death as many business tycoons pay a visit to his funeral and give him their last respects. The man left a legacy no other business tycoon has achieved in India. But how many of you know Ratan Tata was a huge Formula 1 fan and he even had his own team in the sport.

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Official partner for Formula 1

Tata Communications was the official connectivity partner of Formula 1 races from 2012 to 2020. TCS Gained a massive deal to be the connectivity partner of the Formula 1 series by providing every resource to broadcast the races via internet. During these eight years, Tata Communications paid 4 million US Dollars per year. They also secured a pit lane branding deal to promote their brand and technology. 

F1 team sponsorships

Under his leadership, TCS has secured many sponsorships with the Formula 1 team in the paddock. In 2009, a historic deal was made by Mr Ratan Tata. He purchased the rights to sponsor Ferrari cars with Tata branding on the front. Ferrari is one of the oldest brands in Formula 1 and Ratan Tata ensured to promote the Indian brand globally by sponsoring Ferrari. Tata also sponsored Jordan and Williams F1 teams before Ferrari.

Own racing team

The Tata group continued its legacy by forming its team in the Formula E series. Ratan Tata bought the British Luxury car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company in 2008 for 2.23 billion. Since Jaguar is the own brand of Tata Group they entered Formula E racing under the name Jaguar TCS racing. The team eventually won the 2023- 2024 Season of the Formula E world championship.

First Indian in F1 car

Everyone knows Narain Karthikeyan is the first Indian to race in Formula 1. But it was Mr Ratan Tata who backed him to race at Jordan team in 2005. Narain was given the position of reserve driver as Tata was sponsoring the Jordan Team. So every credit goes to Ratan Tata for putting the first Indian in Formula 1 races.

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