When it comes to smoking tobacco companies, we don't skimp on procedures. The first alert came from Australia where the Ministry of Health openly questioned the legality of the new approach of the Phillip Morris group under the label “Mission Winnow”, suspected of suggesting the banned product. The stakes are immense because the budgets for Ferrai's Formula 1 season and that of MotoGP for Ducati are at stake. Two major structures whose controversy could leave a taste of ashes since the offensive is now coming squarely from Italy.
A legal attack. Barely had the new Ferrari SF90 been presented when the coordination of associations for the protection of the environment and the rights of users and consumers presented a joint document to the Italian antitrust authority. The goal ? Check the legality of the sponsor, Mission Winnow, in connection with Philip Morris International, which the red cars display on its 2019 livery.
After the case of Australia, which is reportedly considering banning Ferrari from lining up on the Melbourne grid on March 17 with Mission Winnow stickers, the other blow now comes from Italy.
" We have filed a complaint with the antitrust authority and the Ministry of Health to ensure the accuracy of the approach and its compliance with current legislation. This is not the first time that F1 or motorcycle racing has a habit of revisiting what the law prohibits, namely advertising for tobacco and tobacco products. This is why we ask both authorities to analyze the facts and the true mission of Winnow ", said Maximilian Dona, president of the Italian National Consumers Union.
If Antitrust were to rule in favor of the plaintiffs, the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc could be seized. The same reasoning could be applied to the Ducati MotoGP ofAndrea Dovizioso et Danilo Petrucci, which shares the same color and sponsor, Mission Winnow.
A matter to be taken seriously, because there is a precedent. Tutomotoriweb recalls that in 2005, the same people denounced Ferrari for the presence of Marlboro writing on the car Schumacher et Barrichello. The Scuderia had to remove the name and replace it with a barcode…
