Yup, even though tobacco sponsorship in F1 has been banned since 2007, the Scuderia is going to continue its association with Marlboro. Perhaps it’s no surprise though, given that Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene used to work in the marketing department for tobacco company Philip Morris – owner of the Marlboro brand.
There’s no indication of exactly how long the new deal will last, but it’s said to be a multi-year contract, so chances are it’s a pretty long one.
The Scuderia has had an association with Philip Morris for more than 40 years, and in 1997 its Marlboro brand became the team’s title sponsor.
In 2007 the Marlboro logos disappeared from the car, being replaced with barcodes, but in 2010 it was told to remove them as well because they were seen to be subliminal messages.
Shortly after the barcode design was banned, Ferrari came up with a new team logo which has since been proudly displayed on the engine cover. In no way does it resemble the Marlboro logo. Nope, not at all.
So, if tobacco advertising is banned in F1 and the Marlboro logo can’t be displayed anywhere, why exactly does it keep renewing its deal with Ferrari?
The answer is relatively straightforward: Philip Morris buys all the advertising space on the cars and then sells it off again to other companies. Simple!
