Following more than a week of controversy regarding its livery, Ferrari has capitulated for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. For more than a decade, the Ferrari Formula One team has been sponsored by Marlboro cigarettes. Ever since tobacco sponsorship was banned from F1, however, traditional Marlboro branding has been absent from the Italian cars.
In recent weeks, though, accusations flew, alleging that the replacement “bar code” logo adorning the Ferraris’ engine covers was merely a subliminal reference to the tobacco brand. After Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo insisted just days ago that the “argument was pointless,” the cars appeared in Barcelona devoid of the controversial livery. Instead, the cars now have a simple red rectangle wear the bar code once was.
[Source: Ferrari]