This year at Monaco Kimi Raikkonen left behind something incredibly valuable as a tiny diamond dislodged from his helmet in a one-race sponsorship deal.
Now it seems that the subject of diamonds will become a more permanent feature of Formula 1 as De Beers is rumoured to have signed on to be Ferrari’s title sponsor as of 2007. De Beers, the originators of the slogan “A diamond is forever”, have committed to raise its marketing spend to about 10% of sales and this move is bound to contribute significantly.
De Beers, currently being controlled by the Oppenheimer family, is the world’s largest diamond trading company and should this rumour be true will replace Ferrari’s current title sponsor Vodafone, who has signed on as McLaren’s title sponsor for next year.
Addition on 5 January 2005: It would seem as though this rumour was just that – a rumour. DailyF1News.com will update you on any further developments!
DailyF1News.com
