Ferrari hopeful of retaining main sponsor despite name change

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is hopeful the team will retain ties to long-time main sponsor Philip Morris International despite dropping Mission Winnow from its F1 entry name.

The PMI initiative was launched in 2018 and was met with criticism due to its perceived form of tobacco branding which has been banned from F1 since the end of 2005.

The Scuderia featured bright green Mission Winnow branding on its cars last season, although removed the logos for European rounds.

The name, however, was included within the official team entry but for the upcoming season onwards has now been dropped.

Asked whether there remained ties with PMI during an end-of-season media briefing that included GPFans, Binotto replied: "They have been our title sponsor.

"If you look at the ways that we subscribe our team to the next championship, it's not called Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow anymore but only Scuderia Ferrari.

"So I think that's quite straightforward maybe as an answer. Still, actually, there are many opportunities on which we may collaborate with them, keeping them as partners.

"We have options on the table at the moment and we are still talking with them.

"Hopefully, they will remain still as a strong partner, but it'll take some more days and some more weeks."