When the 2019 Formula One season kicked off, Scuderia Ferrari dropped their major sponsor Mission Winnow temporarily. Now, the Maranello outfit is set to do it again at the French Grand Prix this weekend in Le Castellet. Interestingly, Motorsport.com reported that the Mission Winnow brand will likely be dropped by Ferrari, and Italian MotoGP squad Ducati, for the rest of 2019.
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Barring Australia, the Mission Winnow logo was emblazoned on the SF90 cars of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in every race. It also was part of Ferrari’s official team name briefly, after being introduced in Japan 2018.
The sponsor was dropped in Australia owing to an investigation into its presence in F1. This was because it seemingly flouted a ban on tobacco advertisement in the country.
Last year, when the announcement was made, Mission Winnow was portrayed as an initiative from long-time Ferrari sponsors Philip Morris. The idea was “to create engagement around the role of science, technology and innovation as a powerful force for good in any industry”.
Imago
Source: F1.com
Philip Morris’ brand, Marlboro and Ferrari have been synonymous for many years. However, it stopped due to the ban on tobacco advertising in F1.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Philip Morris spokesman, Simon Dowding said: “As announced at the start of the season, we may on a race-by-race basis provide opportunities to our partners to communicate messages in place of Mission Winnow.
“As was the case in Australia and Canada, Scuderia Ferrari will again celebrate their 90th anniversary on the livery and team uniforms at the Formula 1 GP in France this weekend. We will continue to share more information as appropriate ahead of each race.”
The Mission Winnow brand may also leave the Ducati team at least by the Assen TT GP in the Netherlands. Even McLaren have removed the British American Tobacco from their own cars at a few races.
