Ferrari decided for Australia (and possibly beyond in Europe), that the team would remove all of their primary sponsors’ logo’s, the Mission Winnow branding from tobacco giant Philip Morris.
Indeed, last week TJ13 revealed that the last minute decision has forced the team to use 2018 team kit, and that the cars would not use the logo’s from Philip Morris.
Many saw this coming during the weekend when the FIA issued the latest list of entries for the 2019 Formula One World Championship, most notably the removal of tobacco corporation Philip Morris’s ‘Mission Winnow’ brand, from the Ferrari team name. TJ13 predicted this would happen some weeks ago.
At the Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri comments and confirms the situation:
“Yes, there were difficulties with the Australian Ministry of Health.
“Philip Morris could not find a solution in the short time available. But Winnow is not a brand, it sells, it’s not about tobacco products.”
Then in a rather teasing way, Camilleri hints that in place of the logo’s we’ll see a ‘surprise’ at Melbourne:
“We’ll have a surprise on the cars for the fans in Melbourne instead,” says Camilleri.
Mission Winnow will return to the cars at the second World Championship round in Bahrain. However, there will be no further change to the team name and Mission Winnow will stay gone.
What does Camilleri say about Ferrari’s winter tests?
“We always think positively. We always have the same goal. Our car has succeeded, we are satisfied with the test drives, even if it’s not easy to assess our opponents. The car is very well balanced, but we have to work on the stability.”
In Barcelona, there were problems with overheating, followed by difficulties with the exhaust, the rim breakage and crash of Vettel and in the end an electrical failure. That said, TJ13 predicts that the Italians have the fastest car on the grid (read more), corroborated by Karun Chandhok analysis (read more).
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
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