François Guiter
François Émile Jean Guiter (7 May 1928 — 9 November 2014)[1] was a French businessman who served as Elf's head of marketing from 1967 to 1989.
Guiter facilitated Formula One's path to broadcast television, winning a struggle with the BBC to permit large-scale advertising in the sport.
He championed Renault's introduction of turbocharged engines to Formula One in 1977, ushering in a new era of racing dominated by wealthy multinational automakers.
Through Elf, Guiter pursued Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou's goal to restore the reputation of French auto racing.
Jackie Stewart won three Drivers' Championships in cars sponsored by Elf and painted in French racing blue.
[13] To appease his parents, Guiter left underwater filmmaking for advertising, joining the French office of American oil company Caltex.
Elf was located in the strategically valuable oil sector, and thus became "an instrument of the national independence and the grandeur of France," in contrast to Renault, the state-owned auto manufacturer.
[19] Guiter agreed with the plan, explaining that "we looked at racing ... and we realised the French had been pretty good at it: Delahaye, Delage, Talbot, Gordini, drivers like Wimille and Sommer.
To reach this point, however, Guiter had to overcome opposition from the British Broadcasting Corporation, which disfavoured obtrusive advertising.
In March 1976, the BBC decided to black out the 1976 Formula One season to protest the Surtees Racing Organisation's sponsorship with condom manufacturer Durex.
[25] A month later, it also threatened to black out the Formula Two season, pointing to a 55-square-inch limit on the size of advertising decals on racing cars.
[26] In the end, British audiences demanded to watch local star James Hunt challenge Niki Lauda for the Drivers' Championship at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix.
[27] In 1978, the BBC introduced Murray Walker's long-running TV programme Grand Prix to provide consistent coverage of all races, all season long.
[9][30] He paid photojournalists Just Jaeckin and Emmanuel Zurini [fr] and film director Alain Boisnard to cover the sport.
His Elf "ma[d]e no bones about the fact that if Mr. Ecclestone and Mr. Mosley want[ed] to turn Formula 1 into a public spectacle and an entertainment above all else, with no thought for the future other than money-making[,] then [it would] pull out.
[34] Even before launching the Elf brand, Guiter had already signed a four-year sponsorship agreement with Equipe Matra Sports.
"[20]: 104 At Matra, Guiter formed a triumvirate with team principal Ken Tyrrell and company CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère.
[45] Guiter threw his support behind Tyrrell, as the Matra parent company had recently partnered with French automaker Simca, which was allied with Elf's rival Shell.
[6] At one point, he added that Renault grew jealous of Matra's success and asked Elf to stop sponsoring a rival French automaker.
[48] According to Joe Saward, Guiter, Formula One Group's Bernie Ecclestone, and Marlboro's John Hogan were "the primary forces in creating modern F1, not only by providing money for the sport, but also by putting together great teams.
Winfield School's Simon de Lautour said that Guiter "would go up to people in the F1 pits and say: 'I want you to try this driver' - and they'd jump to it.
However, Renault provided no financial support, and the joke was that the Alpine team was branded "Renault-Alpine" when it won and "Alpine-Renault" when it lost.
[46]: 5–6 At the end of 1967, Guiter approached Renault's communication director Jean Terramorsi with a proposal to start auto racing.
[15]: 92 In an arrangement that went beyond motorsports, Elf agreed to financially support the Renault-Alpine racing teams in exchange for various commercial concessions.
[15]: 98 The team also entered the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, although it failed to win the general classification and only won a lesser category.
[66][67] Although Renault's leadership was not enthusiastic, Guiter "simply handed the budget to a new generation of engineers at Gordini’s Viry-Châtillon factory and told them to get on with it.
"[71] In addition, Ken Tyrrell had previously advised him that it would be easier to invent something new than to out-develop the dominant, naturally aspirated Ford Cosworth engines.
[72] In addition, in early 1985, the French government replaced Renault CEO Bernard Hanon [fr], a supporter of the team, with Georges Besse, who was not as enthusiastic about the project.
[82][81] After Guiter's departure, Elf initially stayed involved in Formula One, supporting Renault-powered Williams and Benetton during their 1990s title challenges.
[85] In any event, Elf pulled out of Formula One after the 1996 season,[86] although it returned to assist the new Renault team led by Fernando Alonso.
