Niki Lauda Will Not Wear Red Cap in 2011

Niki Lauda will not be seen wearing his usual red cap in the F1 paddock through the upcoming campaign of the series. And that's because the legendary Austrian driver has signed a new sponsorship deal with Liechtenstein finance company Money Service Group, which will change the color of his cap to dark blue.

“We are very pleased to have Niki Lauda as an ambassasdor,” said founder and owner Michael Seidl, whose company Money Service Group also sponsors Toro Rosso.

For some of you who are not very familiar with Lauda's cap, know that the triple F1 champion, now a successful businessman and also a TV commentator, has been wearing it ever since he escaped a near-fatal shunt in 1976. During the German GP, his car caught fire after being involved in an accident and left him with severe burns to his head and facial scars.

Ever since, Lauda has been wearing his red cap and used it as a means to make money. And that's because he used the space in front of it for sponsoring purposes. Apparently, his 4-year deal with Swiss machinery maker Oerlikon has come to an end and the colors of the new company he's partnering are completely different.

Former sponsors present on Lauda's famous “cappy” through the years include multinational Italian dairy and food corporation Parmalat and German energy company Viessmann. As he recently revealed in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit that tiny space in front of his cap costs around EUR1.2 million.