During the last few months, the hypothesis regarding the non-renewal of the title sponsor agreement between tobacco company Philip Morris and Ferrari has gradually become a certainty and has been reported by the main newspapers and specialized sites.
This is a historic event in its own way, as the American company entered Formula 1 back in 1971 by sponsoring BRM, then joining Frank Williams’ ISO, McLaren and Ferrari. In recent decades it was the Maranello team that linked up with the Marlboro and then Mission Winnow brands, obviously encountering difficulties as the laws that regulate the sponsorship of tobacco products and its derivatives have become more strict in Europa and worldwide. And so in 2022 the paths of Ferrari and PMI should thus separate while according to what was reported by British Formula One journalist Joe Saward, the partnership with Amazon signed in June 2021 would further strengthen:
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“The word ‘Philip Morris’ on my notebook meant that the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the last race in which the tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI) was involved in an official capacity. The firm, which owns Marlboro, has been the biggest F1 sponsor in history, dating back to 1971 when Marlboro first sponsored the BRM team. The deal lasted for three years but without much success and in the final year Marlboro was also involved with Frank Williams’s Iso team. In 1974 Marlboro did a new deal with McLaren, starting a relationship that lasted until 1996 and then Ferrari. It was still a significant sponsor of Ferrari this year, with the Mission Winnow concept. But that has not been renewed. PMI may still have some hospitality packages in the years ahead but it looks like all sponsorships are finished – which is something that should not pass unnotice. The word is that Ferrari will up its links with Amazon in the future.” – explained the British journalist, in a recent post published on his blog.
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