Ferrari has announced that they have officially dropped the tobacco brand, Mission Winnow from their team name from the upcoming season onwards. The team is however, still in talks with Philip Morris International, the team’s parent company, about extending their partnership.
The logo of the tobacco company was seen on the car for the last two seasons, as the brand was keen on endorsing new technologies. Although, this was criticised because it was seen as a way to reinstate tobacco advertising on a Formula 1 car which is a practice that had been prohibited since 2006.
This season, the imprinting appeared on the rear wings and on the engine covers in green.
The 2022 Formula 1 entry list has made it clear that the team’s name has changed back to Scuderia Ferrari, but team principal Mattia Binotto has stated that they are still in talks with PMI about conserving their contract in some arrangement, as it’s been one of Ferrari’s longest-serving sponsors.
Mattia Binotto, said, “They have been our title sponsor and if you look at the way that we subscribe our team to the next championship, it’s not called anymore Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, but only Scuderia Ferrari.
“I think that’s quite straightforward as an answer. But still, there are many opportunities on which we may collaborate with them, keeping them as partners. We have various options on the table at the moment and we are still talking, and hopefully, that will remain as a strong partner, but it will take some more days and some more weeks.”
Ferrari also confirmed the homecoming of Santander as a ‘premium partner’ with the team, after the bank previously sponsored the Ferrari from 2010 to 2017. The bank’s logo will be swapped with the Mission Winnow branding on their Formula 1 cars, as well as on the GT cars, Le Mans Hypercars and team members’ race suits and caps.