BY MAX PRINCE
It's been seven years since tobacco sponsorships were pulled from motorsports, a move that shifted the financial landscape of racing massively and did away with some of our most beloved liveries. Now, a major European organization is urging FIA boss Jean Todt to ban alcohol sponsorships in Formula 1.
The request comes from European Alcohol Policy Alliance, a non-governmental coalition of 57 organizations across 25 countries that advocates to reduce alcohol-related health issues. In an open letter to Todt published this morning, Mariann Skar, the Secretary General of the organization, says she "expects rapid action" from the FIA regarding the issue. According to Skar, the association between liquor and driving, combined with F1's enormous media exposure, subverts an EU directive from March 2010 that outlines criteria for alcohol advertising on television.
This year, three F1 teams have prominently featured alcohol sponsors on their cars: McLaren (Johnny Walker), Force India (Smirnoff), and Williams (Martini). Those deals are big business, too, accounting for approximately $50M in combined funding. Economic discrepancies in F1 are already substantial —Mercedes has purportedly spent in excess of $500M to win the Constructors Title,
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