Mosley predicts long-term F1 tobacco sponsorship
F1 cigarette sponsorship is now likely to remain beyond the European Union ban on tobacco advertising next year, according to FIA president Max Mosley, the Reuters news agency reports. Referring to the consequences of the conduct of the European Commission with regard to F1, he said: "In a nutshell, it's a complete mess. I think it [sponsorship] probably will go on after 2006."
Mosley continued: "Everything was fixed as far as we were concerned for [a global ban from] the end of 2006. Then unfortunately the health department of the European Commission went and moved the date, to the end of July 2005. Of course that interfered with all the F1 contracts, so then arrangements had to be made to keep racing despite what the EU had done.
"This has driven some of the races outside Europe and now, of course, people are saying: 'Why stop in 2006'? Meanwhile we were told by our lawyers that we were not in a position to impose a ban because that would be interfering with the commercial side of the sport."
Mosley said that he would have preferred a clean break from tobacco at the agreed date, which would also have allowed other industries such as food and pharmaceuticals to take the place of the cigarette companies.
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