Though most other F1 teams have banished cigarette advertisements from their fenders in the past few years, Ferrari has stubbornly displayed Marlboro logos on its formula one cars wherever the law allows. Someone within Ferrari has apparently had a change of heart, as many noticed at the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month that the F2008 car was without its familiar cigarette advertisements, despite the laws of that country allowing their presence. In their place was what’s been referred to as the “barcode” livery, which some say looks like the Marlboro branding from a distance, but is really just white markings that don’t mean anything. After the race, Ferrari did confirm that Marlboro logos would no longer appear on its cars, which kind of ends an era of sorts. Despite the absence of its logos on the F2008, Marlboro is reportedly still happy to be a sponsor of Ferrari and will remain so until at least 2011 when the contract it signed worth around $1 billion runs out.
Source: AutoBlog
