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About the Mysterious Disappearance of $300,000 F1 Front Wing at the 2004 Monaco GP

Published 01/09/2022, 5:33 AM EST

We’ve often come across Formula One cars sporting special liveries in order to support their partners or maybe, other brands like the Red Bull F1 team’s special ‘Superman’ livery for the 2006 Monaco GP to promote the upcoming DC film, Superman Returns.

The very same Red Bull Racing even promoted one of the Star Wars films by unveiling a special livery for the 2005 Monaco GP. And out of the above-mentioned stories, one can infer that Monaco is indeed the place to witness interesting livery tweaks to the F1 cars.

But, would you reckon Red Bull’s Superman or Star Wars livery were the most bizarre of all? Definitely not! That was pretty much nothing compared to what Jaguar Racing pulled off in 2004 at the Monaco GP.

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The entire world was then weeks away from the release of the film, Ocean’s Twelve starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Hence, amidst a sponsorship deal with the film itself, Jaguar were all set to promote the Ocean’s Eleven sequel with a one-off livery at Monte Carlo.

Jaguar’s F1 livery for the 2004 Monaco GP

Ocean’s Twelve is a movie about a heist! Hence, owing to the story, Jaguar and the film came up with one of the most ridiculous ideas for their special livery. Jaguar decided to embed a diamond onto the front wings of both their cars; One was then driven by Mark Webber and the other by Christian Klien.

Of course, one of the worst places to flaunt such expensive front wings! Hence, both the drivers had the task of bringing back their cars in one piece over every session of that weekend. Webber accomplished it with absolute perfection.

But, Klien? Well, the Austrian did a sterling job on Friday and Saturday only to wreck it all on Sunday, barely a lap since lights-out.

Watch Story: From Prince to the Queen: When F1 Stars Interacted With the Royal Family

Whereabouts of the diamond remains a mystery

Klien lost his car going into Loews, shunting his Jaguar into the wall leaving behind a literal ocean of debris on the track. The race eventually went on, as the entire Jaguar crew waited impatiently wondering what had happened to the diamond.

“At that point, I probably should’ve been worried about the car or the driver. But, I must admit, my immediate thought was for the diamond,” Jaguar’s spokesperson said.

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To make it all worse, they weren’t allowed to enter the track until two hours after the chequered flag due to safety regulations. Enough time for a marshal to slip it into their pocket, isn’t it? Well, unfortunately for the team, the whereabouts of the diamond remain a mystery.

The $300,000 worth diamond could either be in a lucky marshal’s house, or in a pawnshop, or who knows, maybe still remaining a part of the now-scrapped tire wall.

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Written by:

Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.

About the Mysterious Disappearance of $300,000 F1 Front Wing at the 2004 Monaco GP

Jaguar’s F1 livery for the 2004 Monaco GP

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Whereabouts of the diamond remains a mystery