Scuderia Ferrari secured their second victory of the 2018 Formula One World Championship in Bahrain yesterday, with Sebastian Vettel managing to extend the life of the soft tyre compound well beyond the Pirelli advised operating window. The four-time champion converting a two-stop strategy focused on pure pace into a one-stop endurance challenge in response to what many saw to have been a checkmate move from Mercedes with Bottas and a recovering Hamilton pitting for medium compound tyres after Vettel’s first stop. This demonstration of masterful tyre management and dynamic race strategy suggests a thrilling season is in prospect.
After the processional opening race of the season, the eventful Bahrain Grand Prix was a welcome relief for fans and media alike. Overtaking is possible in 2018! Away from the racing, another feature of the 2018 season that continued to grab the attention of commentators was the smoking Scuderia Ferrari and the Ferrari powered customer teams. Technically minded reporters suggest this feature of the 2018 Ferrari power unit is the result of the power unit solution employed by Ferrari to overcome additional restrictions on oil being used as fuel. Through 2017 the oil generating this ‘smoke’ would have been channelled back into the power unit and possibly improved performance, for 2018 Ferrari have elected to channel oil out of the car. Much to the frustration of any competitor lapping behind them.
Whilst the technical explanation is entirely logical, (albeit poorly explained in this article) there is an alternative school of thought around this new feature of Scuderia Ferrari. Ahead of the 2018 season, it was widely expected the scarlet team would feature branding from title partner Philip Morris International’s electric cigarette / vaping division IQOS. In fact livery designer extraordinaire Sean Bull put together this fantastic mockup livery around such an announcement:
Regional advertising restrictions around products containing tobacco likely put an end to these plans, but curiously around the same time as the 2018 launch, PMI announced an extension of its agreement with the Scuderia. Since 2008, when all tobacco advertising was banned in sports, PMI and Ferrari have sought to bypass these regulations through the use of suggestive images, such as barcodes mimicking the brand name Marlboro or team logos reflecting the Marlboro brand identity, is it possible the new smoking look to the 2018 Ferrari is a form of next level subliminal advertising?
IQOS stands for I Quit Ordinary Smoking. The IQOS device acts as a substitute for cigarettes, giving users the tobacco kick as cigarettes, with reduced health risks. During use, IQOS emits a harmless smoke cloud (seen here). Has Ferrari Team Principle and Former PMI Marketing Executive, Maurizio Arrivabene, created the ultimate subliminal advert for IQOS in developing a car to mimick the characteristics of the product a sponsor is seeking to promote?
Is it time to rename the Ferrari SF71-H the SFIQOS-H!?!
Photo credit: Mark Sutton
Wilde Consulting 