The Weekly Grapevine
This week, Dieter Rencken looks at the tobacco law and how some elect to bypass it; and Ferrari's choice of another Brazilian driver
Bypassing the Law
As usual when politicians issue directives, the result is chaos. So it was in Hungary this weekend past where, despite clear 'directives' from Brussels that European Union member states ban tobacco sponsorships of and during international sporting events from the end of 31 July, the former Eastern Block country's tobacco-backed Grand Prix went ahead.
Predictably, utter confusion reigned. McLaren tobacco sponsor West, with the team since Marlboro put their Formula One focus behind Ferrari and Michael Schumacher in 1996, withdrew from the sport after Friday's running with, as regularly conveyed in these pages, Johnnie Walker's golden 'Striding Man' whisky taking up space on the silver cars.
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