譯/李京倫
For decades, Formula One was synonymous with tobacco. Not only was the sport awash with money from cigarette companies, but the cars' liveries were also reflections of their sponsors, from the red and white Marlboro McLarens to the black and gold of the John Player Special Lotus.
一級方程式賽車（F1）曾有數十年是菸草的同義詞，不但這項運動充斥著菸商的資金，賽車的外觀也反映出贊助商是誰，例如紅白兩色的萬寶路麥拉倫車隊，以及黑金二色的John Player Special蓮花車隊。
Tobacco brought in an average of $350 million per year for Formula One earlier this decade, and companies like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International helped pay for the sport's continuous cycle of development, the technological arms race that often ensured that those who spent the most won the most.
2010年代開始的頭幾年，菸商平均每年為F1帶來3.5億美元的收入，英美菸草和菲利普莫里斯國際這類公司為這項運動的持續發展周期支付開銷，而發展周期是一種技術上的軍備競賽，最肯花錢的往往也贏面最大。
But that all ended late in 2006 after Formula One banned tobacco advertising. In 2015, the last year for which public figures are available, the sport's 10 teams raised about $750 million from sponsorships, a $200 million drop from 2012. That loss of income hit the sport about the same time as the financial crisis, which forced the Honda, Toyota and Renault teams to shut down, although Renault eventually returned. And now Formula One is reconsidering whether to continue to accept advertising from alcohol, fast-food and snack companies.
但在2006年底F1禁止菸草廣告之後，這一切全結束了。在2015年，也就是F1公開資料能取得的最後一年，這項運動的10支車隊總共從贊助商籌到大約7.5億美元，比2012年少了2億美元。收入的減損約與金融危機同時衝擊這項運動，金融危機迫使本田、豐田和雷諾車隊退出賽事，不過雷諾最後回來了。現在F1正在重新考慮是否繼續接受酒類、速食和零食公司的廣告。
So the sport has been looking for a new vein of money, and in the last few years teams have been working to form partnerships with the deep-pocket companies in the technology industry that would bring not only high-tech expertise, but also revenue.
因此，這項運動一直在尋找新的金脈，在過去幾年裡，車隊一直致力與科技業資金雄厚的公司建立合作夥伴關係，這種關係不僅會帶來高科技專業知識，還會帶來收入。
Technology and Formula One are natural partners, and companies like Microsoft and Dell have long invested in the sport. Mercedes, the current champion, has a number of technical partners, including wireless technology company Qualcomm and audio experts Bose, as well as Tibco, Pure Storage, Rubrik and Epson. Microsoft Dynamics has partnered with the Renault team since 2012, and Dell returned to the sport this year with McLaren, having previously worked with the now-defunct Caterham team.
科技和F1是天生的合作夥伴，微軟和戴爾這類公司長期投資這項運動。目前的冠軍車隊梅賽德斯有不少技術合作夥伴，包括無線技術公司高通和音頻專家博士企業，以及基礎設施軟體供應商Tibco、資料儲存設備業者Pure Storage、提供雲端數據備份的公司Rubrik和資訊影像設備製造商精工愛普生。微軟商業軟體Microsoft Dynamics自2012年起就與雷諾車隊合作，而戴爾今年與麥拉倫一起重返這項運動，此前戴爾曾與現已解散的卡特漢姆車隊合作。
McLaren has been aggressive in obtaining partnerships over the past decade.
過去這十年，麥拉倫一直在積極尋求合作夥伴。
James Bower, McLaren's marketing director, lived through Formula One's sponsorship upheaval.
麥拉倫行銷總監鮑爾經歷過F1的贊助變局。
"Towards the end of that era — between 2001 and 2006 when the new directive kicked in — what you did see was some brands (and I would say West and Lucky Strike were probably the more innovative) pushing harder into lifestyle and pushing harder into what we recognize now as the deeper activation levels, as opposed to just slam Marlboro on the side of the car, throw a few parties, entertain some B2B trade retailers and call it a day," Bower said, referring to business to business.
鮑爾說：「在這個時代即將結束時，也就是2001年到禁止菸草廣告新指令生效的2006年之間，你看到的是一些菸草品牌（我會說威仕和鴻運可能更具創新力）更加努力讓自己成為一種生活方式，並更加努力推進到我們現在認識的更深層次啟動階段，而不是只把萬寶路商標貼在賽車外側，辦幾場社交聚會，招待一些B2B貿易零售商，然後就收工。」鮑爾說的B2B指的是企業對企業。
※說文解字看新聞
本文談F1切斷菸草商贊助後，車隊轉而尋求與科技業者建立合作夥伴關係，從中獲得資金和高科技。
Sponsor當名詞時有幾個含意，第一是為倡議者、發起人、主辦者。第二是為了廣告目的而支付體育、藝術活動或廣播、電視節目開銷的個人或組織。第三是基督宗教的「教父母」（godparent）或「代父母」，也是此字1651年出現時的意義。在天主教內，每個領受洗禮的人一定會有代父母，想領洗的問道者要先經過一段時間的培育，稱為慕道期。
Sponsor也能當動詞，如果一個國家指控另一國sponsor attacks，就是認為另一國放任攻擊發生而不阻止，state-sponsored terrorism是國家支持的恐怖活動。形容詞是sponsorial，意為保證人的、教父母的、主辦人的。sponsorship則是贊助金或贊助行為。
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