The Ferrari-Mission Winnow controversy has gotten a little out of hand now. When the ‘Mission Winnow’ branding first appeared on the Ferrari car late last season, it was expected that some ‘tobacco related’ controversy could hit Ferrari.
Formula 1 has stayed away from tobacco advertising for sometime now and Ferrari are treading a thin line with this new ‘Mission winnow’ branding.
While the branding does not directly promote tobacco of any kind, it is associated with Philip Morris, something that cannot be overlooked.
Australian authorities had launched an investigation about the same a few weeks ago, and Ferrari have now gone onto drop ‘Mission Winnow’ from their team name going into the 2019 season.
New FIA F1 Entry List@ScuderiaFerrari is not called Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow anymore. Only Scuderia Ferrari.#F1 pic.twitter.com/noZxO3sMJS
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) March 3, 2019
Wait what https://t.co/M0QnKC3h7P
— Patrick Melbourne (@PatrickMSports) March 3, 2019
Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow is now called ‘Scuderia Ferrari’; a move that could mean developments have taken place with respect to the ‘Mission Winnow’ branding.
And while it was initially assumed that ‘Mission Winnow’ was just dropped from the team name, F1 is trying its best to do away with it from driver suits as well.
In a recent update of Charles Leclerc’s profile photo on the F1 website, the young Ferrari driver can be seen folding his hands to hide the Mission Winnow branding on the Ferrari suit.
F1 hiding the mission winnow tobacco sponsorship by asking @Charles_Leclerc to cross his arms. Clever, F1, clever.#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/riPU3n4B5y
— Crash Helmet Media (@CrshHlmt_Media) March 3, 2019
Love the way they’ve tried to cover that Mission Winnow logo up 😂
— Henry Douglas (@henrycoppard1) March 3, 2019
Formula 1 resmi sitesinde #CharlesLeclerc'in fotoğrafında Mission Winnow logoları kaldırıldı. #F1 #ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/HkbjRIPOH7
— Pit Duvarı (@pitduvariyedek) March 3, 2019
Now, it is left to be seen if the ‘Mission Winnow’ branding is removed from the Ferrari cars as well.
While only the Australian authorities have launched a complaint regarding the branding, it would be interesting to see if the other countries follow suit, as and when the F1 season moves there.
With Ferrari being fastest in testing in Barcelona, the team would be hoping that sponsor issues don’t plague them in the buildup to the first grand prix in Australia.
The Ferrari management and team would like to stay away from any and every controversy heading into the new season, so that all their energies can be channelised into winning the 2019 season.
