The departure of tobacco giant Philip Morris from Formula 1 seems to be complete. The controversial ‘Mission Winnow’ initiative, which was created to partually shift focus from advertising of Marlboro cigarettes, has not only run its course, but it seems that Scuderia Ferrari and Philip Morris have not signed a different form of partnership altogether.
The Italian side recently completed a private testing session with the SF71H car at the Fiorano circuit and used a new livery which pointed out the return of former team sponsor Santander, as reported by German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. Philip Morris (Marlboro, Mission Winnow) therefire is officially out of motorsport as Ferrari and also Ducati end their long-time partnerships with the tobacco giant.
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PMI (through it’s brands) has been part of the sport since 1972 and with Ferrari since the following year. It has been one of the oldest continuous sponsorship deals in the sport: for example they have been with Ferrari longer than Williams has been in the sport (they joined 1977 in the current form), making only McLaren and Ferrari as only longer continuous participants in the sport.
Also changing recently is the apparent relationships between the Maranello team and so-called ‘B’ teams Alfa Romeo and Haas. While Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur denies that the Sauber-run team’s links with Ferrari are dissipating over time – it is clear that ties between Ferrari and Haas are deepening. A recent report informs that Haas has not one but two new offices at Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters – one for design and the second for dedicated wind tunnel work.
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