Motor racing-Barilla makes pasta go faster with F1 sponsorship

SAKHIR, Bahrain (Reuters) -Italian pasta maker Barilla became an official partner of Formula One on Friday in a multi-year deal that also represented a rare example of a former driver returning as a sponsor of the sport.

The company's vice-president Paolo Barilla, a Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar winner in 1985, raced in Formula One with the Italian Minardi team in 1989 and 1990, with 11th his best result.

"It was a great period of my life," Barilla told a presentation at the Bahrain Grand Prix. "I am happy to be back in this wonderful world of passion and technology with a different commitment now.

"Formula One cars are very sophisticated, the performance is incredible... and then we see one spaghetto that is still the same since 200 years.

"What do they have in common, something that is changing continuously and something that is standing still? Well, behind the scenes (of both) there is an organisation trying to make a better system and a better product," he said.

The partnership will see pasta bars in the paddock and for VIP guests at races, with trackside signage, activations and consumer promotions.

Formula One has 24 races around the world, three of them in the United States and two in Italy, and with China a fast growing following.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)