Mission Winnow, an initiative started by Philip Morris as part of a move to a non-tobacco future, has been title partner of Ferrari since it was first launched at the 2018 Japanese GP.
Its logos have been prominent on the Ferrari engine cover, as well as the wording appearing on the rear wing and other areas of the car.
However, there have been periods where the Mission Winnow logos have been taken off because Philip Morris wanted to avoid any controversy amid increasing government scrutiny about whether or not it breached tobacco advertising laws.
It was absent for a number of races in 2019 and did not appear at all during the shortened 2020 campaign.
For this year, however, the Mission Winnow logos returned in a bright green colour in a bid to raise further awareness for the campaign.
But ahead of this weekend’s race at Paul Ricard, Philip Morris said that its logos would no longer feature at any races within the EU.
The company also confirmed that it did not intend to run them at next month’s British Grand Prix either.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
In a statement, Riccardo Parino, VP Global Partnerships at Philip Morris, cited the ‘mistrust’ and ‘scepticism’ towards the tobacco industry, and said that his company did not wish to get involved in any controversies by pushing on with running the logo.
“The Mission Winnow logo will not be featured on the Scuderia Ferrari livery during races in the EU, starting with the French Grand Prix this weekend,” he said.
“Mission Winnow respects all laws and regulations and continuously strives to find distinctive ways to drive dialogue, free of ideology, and build strong partnerships that are rooted in shared values.
“We acknowledge the mistrust and abundance of scepticism towards our industry. However, our intention is not to create controversy around the application of the logo but rather focus on re-framing global conversations, building communities, and supporting innovative ideas that drive positive change.”
In a separate development, Ferrari announced a new technical and commercial partnership with Amazon Web Services, with the company’s logos appearing on the nose of the SF21.
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