Oliver WhiteOne could be forgiven for thinking that now tobacco sponsorship has finally left Formula One, many cars would be adjusting their liveries to suit newly found sponsors, and move away from the previous branding. And most teams are doing just this. Renault are keeping tight-lipped about their 2007 livery, and recent photos of the team shaking their 2007 car down at Silverstone clearly show a move away from Mild Seven blue. Honda are another team that are expected to drastically change their colours. Again, keeping schtum about the whole thing, Honda could be going green, so the rumours say.
So on to Ferrari. The Scuderia moved away from their tradtional colour when Marlboro came on board in 1996, along with Michael Schumacher et al, and the red was brightened up a bit. Although Malrboro are only into the second year of a five year deal, it was hoped that Ferrari might return to their original fighting paint – Ferrari red. But, Marlboro are keeping part of their logo on the car. In order to circumnavigate the new rules, Marlboro will display the bar code on the engine cover – just as they did at races that had already banned cigarette advertising. And apparently, in a hope to add even more of a subliminal message, the red is moving even further away from Ferrari red and closer to Marlboro red. In other words, even brighter.
I was personally hoping the car would return to its traditional colours, but I guess Ferrari need the money, despite allegedly not paying Kimi Raikkonen as much as Michael Schumacher. Also sponsoring the team for 2007 will be Mubadala Abu Dhabi. an arab company owned by the government of Abu Dhabi. The company recently purchased a 5% stake on the Ferrari company for $138m, and will now appear on the team caps and on the car as well.
Ferrari are due to launch their 2007 challenger tomorrow.
Is it possible for you to give us a pic of the different colours when the car is released? I.E. Ferrari red next to Marlboro Red… Would be interesting to see…
Haha Jason, I was waiting for that request! I appreciate it is nigh-on impossible to visualise the difference in colours from my words alone. Unfortunately, Ferrari are unlikely to have their 2006 and 2007 cars next to each other, so seeing the differences will continue to be hard. Taking two separate images doesn’t always work because of the light and other variables that plague photographers.
If there is anything out there that helps describe the colour of the Ferrari better than I can, I’ll post it.
Thanks for the comment, Jason.
[…] Furthermore, the shade of red is said to have moved even further away from Ferrari’s traditional rosso corsa colour towards something more like the washed-out bright red of Marlboro. […]
I am sorry but I have to disagree with your statement. The red is not anything to do with ‘Marlboro red’. The lighter and brighter red is whats known as ‘Rosso’ red, a red which is used on customer bought Ferraris, such as Ferrari Modena 360. Simply search on google images if you do not know what one looks like (type in Rosso red Ferrari).
The lighter and brighter almost orange Rosso red is a very popular colour on customer bought cars and because of this the move is being made to make the f1 cars this colour also in line with corperate branding and marketing… to make the Ferrari more easily identified to their customer market (not that they really need to do this though!)
Yes the barcode is the Marlboro logo and features also on the rear wing and the the driver pod. Also, you will know that simple the white blank square on ferrari clothing and merchandise is also the Marlboro logo.
The Ferrari brand is simply so well known that they no longer have to physically write MARLBORO onto their clothing and merchandise as people simply know that the team is SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO and the blank white square represents this.
Amy, you aren’t even close…Ferrari does not have a proper name for the F1 cars’ red hue. It is more orange than red for television broadcasting purposes. It looks “red” on tv, unlike the old rosso corso that looked burgundy. The closest color on a street car is the 360 challenge stradale red, which has hints of orange. Nothing to do with corporate branding, nice,clever theory though.
The rosso red I have seen chosen from a brochure…and then put on a Modena 360. A neighbour down the road in my village had one.
Due to the fact that my bedroom window flies a Schumacher flag and a Ferrari flag either side and I babysit regulary for him he knew of my love of ferrari/schumacher and showed me the brochure and invited me along with him to see his car when he picked it up.
Rosso red does exist i’ve seen it with my own eyes on paper and on a car.
Sorry also can I say I didnt say that the F1 car is called Rosso Red, just that it is getting closer and closer to this ever popular shade of red which is being requested on a lot of newer purchased Ferrari road cars. I think you will find I what I was actually saying agrees with a lot of your reply post, that they are making the car lighter and brighter, and moving away from the old shade of deeper red once used.
Yes perhaps the theory on the branding is just a theory (its not like ferrari actually speak to us about anything like this!!) but thanks it is clever…and therefore you never know… quite possibly true 😉
Sorry to post again missed something else out (have the head of a uni student trying to finish off her dissertation!) my first post was simply arguing against the original poster who claimed that the red was a MARLBORO red, for the purposes of them…and this definetly isnt the case….
…that was what I was trying to emphasise. Ferrari ditched Vodafone because of their demands of different colours (wanting a different red, and a whole lot more white) so they certainly arent changing/adapting their colours for marlboro when the brand is already so established with the barcode and blank white squares on the car
Okay guys and gals, can we agree on one thing here? Ferrari do not paint their cars in the original colour – as in way back in time when Gilles Villeneuve used thrash them around the circuits. Since then sponsors have requested the colour to be changed, and in the late 1990s Ferrari started to adjust the colour. However, it would now appear to be getting closer to the original as sponsors change.
It is only the colour we’re discussing here after all!
Completely agree with you Oliver…the only point i was really trying to make is there is not a Marlboro red…or an agreement with marlboro for it to be a marlboro red…seen as the brand is already so established and Ferrari would not change their colour for Vodafone (hence why the left they wanted more white) so they would not change it simply for marlboro…
…all the waffling was simply down to the fact that im a girl…and blonde 😉 hehe
That’s cool Amy – I just didn’t want a lively and interesting discussion to descend into a war of words.
no of course not, I wouldnt do that anyway 🙂 By the way I like your blogs =)
The color of the Ferrari F1 cars is closest to the production color “Rosso Scuderia” and this color is more orange than Rosso Corsa in order to appear red on television. Rosso Scuderia was referred to as Challenge Stradale Red in a previous post, this color was available on the CS, so was every other color in the rainbow. Rosso Scuderia can be ordered on any production Ferrari.