Ferrari and McLaren’s controversial tobacco-backed slogans will not appear in the new edition of the official Formula 1 game, F1 2019, Codemasters have confirmed to RaceFans.
The two teams launched their 2019 cars featuring slogans related to their respective tobacco-producing sponsors. Ferrari carries Philip Morris International’s ‘Mission Winnow’ branding, which was introduced at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, and McLaren features British American Tobacco ‘A Better Tomorrow’ slogan.Both sponsors deny the campaigns are intended to promote tobacco products. However after concerns were raised by groups in Australia that the branding could violate restrictions on tobacco advertising both teams ran removed the slogans from their cars, drivers’ overalls and elsewhere for the season-opening race in Melbourne. Ferrari also temporarily removed ‘Mission Winnow’ from its official team name for the first race weekend.
The branding was reinstated by both teams at the next round. BAT has also used its presence on the McLaren to promote its line of Vype e-cigarettes.
But amid uncertainty over whether the controversial slogans will be absent in other territories, Codemasters has elected to leave them out of F1 2019 entirely.
“We always go ‘non-tobacco'” game director Lee Mather explained to RaceFans. “Even some of them that are quite marginal, there are often reasons why we can’t.
“We always have to err on the side of caution. The last thing we want is try and sell in a territory where something is questionable.”
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Andy (@andycz)
4th May 2019, 8:26
Those sidepods are totally wrong? Is that picture from the final version of he game?
Cuky
4th May 2019, 8:30
From what we have been shown only Toro Rosso, Renault and Haas have their models finished and approved from license holders. In those preview videos other teams all have Codemasters’ spec F1 2019 model based on what FIA had designed as a representation of 2019 rules with correct team liveries.
That spec model will be available for use in multiplayer races where we will be able to customize liveries on that specific car.
Corsair
4th May 2019, 8:56
@andycz Not finished yet. Explained in the video.
Diego (@ofitus21)
4th May 2019, 9:34
F1 2019 has an standard chassis that’ll be used for the eSports competition and some online racing. This is the car you see on the picture, with the Ferrari livery.
2019 cars will of course be available, but no pictures have been released yet
Andy (@andycz)
5th May 2019, 5:02
Thanks for clarification guys.
Cuky
4th May 2019, 8:27
That is nothing strange. From when I can remember in F1 games Ferrari cars were always with just blank white space where Marlboro should have been or once (I think it was F1 2002) it was entirely red on the engine cover, with even white space removed.
There are also alcohol brands that are always missing from games: Kingfisher on Force India was missing, Martini from Williams, Johnnie Walker from McLaren…
If they include them they would probably get higher age rating which means less sales to young folks. But whatever the reason is, it is a fair compromise, though Ferrari car will look a bit empty. Shame that they couldn’t at least stylize F1 or Ferrari logo in similar coloring to that of Mission Winnow logo so that car at least looks closer to RL. Like what Milestone did in new MotoGP game where instead of Mission Winnow they have “Ducati” written on the bikes and leathers.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
4th May 2019, 22:30
The difference is those were the actual tobacco brands. These are campaigns which are intended to be acceptable across a range of territories, but as events in Australia and now this demonstrates, not everyone considers them acceptable. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if these campaigns disappear again at other rounds on the championship.
Why’s that significant? Because it shows how close to the edge of legality they’re operating, which in turn shows how lucrative these campaigns must be for them to go to that kind of trouble.
anon
4th May 2019, 23:35
Cuky, in that instance, though, there were races at the time where Ferrari did run with a plain white engine cover (the F2002 ran with a plain white engine cover at the French Grand Prix, for example). In the past, the major teams which still carried tobacco sponsorship often would just temporarily take the logos off, or change them to something more innocuous (such as the names of the drivers) – indeed, there are examples going back several decades of teams doing that (for example, the 1985 European GP saw teams removing the names of tobacco sponsors due to restrictions on tobacco sponsorship back then).
As Keith notes, in some ways it perhaps does more to highlight how those same companies are now pushing the boundaries of the law in a more noticeable way than they did in the past, highlighting that those companies must believe that there is still considerable value in those campaigns and that, in turn, they must still offer a fair chunk of money to F1 in turn for them to continue accepting that sponsorship.
Matt
4th May 2019, 18:05
It is just me??
The game looks slick but everything about it is just poor. The damage model, the collision detection mesh, the physics, the clunky in-game menus, the patronising and cheesy interviews, the AI, the lack of proper mechanical failures, the way the game just cuts when you total your car, the poor replays… I could go on and on. It’s terrible. I’d still pick GP4 over this and it came out 17 years ago.
The refusal of online media writers to point all this out is just allowing it to continue.
Pete (@petey84)
7th May 2019, 15:41
I agree, I could really do without the interviews and the talks with the agents and engineers, after the first part of the season they get a bit tiresome.
F1oSaurus (@)
4th May 2019, 18:13
This is seriously a “story” still?
ram
4th May 2019, 18:46
Now it’s a story about a game. Next it’s going to be about, is it in the Fantasy League.
rushfan
4th May 2019, 19:19
Good job too, glad to see the tobacco teams failing this year, good karma
Win7Golf (@win7golf)
5th May 2019, 0:26
Nothing around here about the W Series?!
Nice race. Better than some F1 GPs…
I really hope this stucks and grow!
I will be following the W Series as I do the F1.