It makes for timely viewing as the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art prepares to open its doors in Los Angeles on September 22. Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum spans more than 100,000 square feet across over 30 galleries and is dedicated to visual storytelling. Among its opening exhibitions is Star Wars in Motion, showcasing vehicles, props, and costumes from the first six films, which also revisits the saga's motorsport connections.
Red Bull Racing were only six races into their Formula 1 story when they arrived in Monaco in 2005. With Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith just released, the new team teamed up with Lucasfilm to promote the final instalment of the prequel trilogy over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. David Coulthard and Vitantonio Liuzzi's RB1s featured flames running along the bodywork, huge Star Wars logos on the sidepods, and references to the Dark Side. Darth Vader, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and an army of Stormtroopers descended on the team, while Red Bull's mechanics swapped their usual pit stop attire for white outfits inspired by the Empire's Stormtroopers. George Lucas joined the team as a guest at their floating Energy Station in the harbour.
Unfortunately, the Force did not extend to the race result. Both Red Bulls retired, with Coulthard's race ending after an incident involving Michael Schumacher, and Liuzzi stopping later as well. It marked the team's first Grand Prix of the season without a points finish. Kimi Raikkonen took victory for McLaren, ahead of Williams pair Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber, but more than two decades later, Red Bull's Star Wars cars remain among the most distinctive one-off looks ever seen at Monaco.
George Lucas remained a familiar face around the paddock, attending the 2015 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. A few months later at Monza, Lewis Hamilton dominated the Italian Grand Prix by starting from pole, leading every lap, and setting the fastest lap to win ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Williams driver Felipe Massa. Waiting for the top three on the podium was Lucas, who conducted the post-race interviews.
In 2017, both Star Wars and Renault celebrated a 40th anniversary, marking the original release of Star Wars: A New Hope in May 1977 and Renault's Formula 1 debut at Silverstone with the turbocharged RS01 less than two months later. Renault and Disney marked their shared anniversary at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Stormtroopers and R2-D2 joined then-team mates Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer, and Lucas returned to Monaco for the celebrations.
Renault's fortunes on track were mixed. Hulkenberg started 10th but retired with a gearbox problem after 16 laps, while Palmer finished 11th, narrowly missing out on the points.
