News


EC to seek tobacco ban again
Michael and Rubens congratulate each other
According to this week's Marketing Week publication (UK), the European Commission (EC) and tobacco manufacturers are set to lock horns again on the issue of a ban on tobacco ads and sponsorship.

In an escalation of tensions between both sides, the tobacco companies have accused the EC of being "hell-bent" on introducing a new ban in the near future, despite the fact that last October the European Court of Justice annulled the EC's first directive after challenges from Gallaher, BAT, Imperial Tobacco and Rothmans.

The Court over-turned this ruling because it felt the ban restricted trade and competition. None the less, the court did not reject a ban on public health grounds, a point that has renewed the debate. As such, the European Commission's Health and Consumer department believes that the Court basically has given the green light to try a new approach for instilling a ban.

"We felt the Court ruling pointed the way forward. It said 'This is the way to do it', rather than 'Don't do it'", said a spokeswoman for the Commission's Health and Consumer department.

DC exits pits But the tobacco manufacturers believe the issue was settled and will seek to remedy any new attempts by the EC to ban their advertising or sponsorship.

"The EC seems hell-bent on punishing us. We can never rule out legal challenges. If the EC makes the same mistakes, we wouldn't hesitate to take a similar attitude," said John Carlisle, the Tobacco Manufacturers Association Director of Public Affairs.

The new directive could be completed by May of this year, but would not be debated in the European Parliament until June, at the earliest. It can take two years for a directive to take full effect. At the same time, in the UK, the House of Lords is currently debating the same issue as it pertains to UK legislation. Interestingly, the European Commission's Health and Consumer department has said it will work in conjunction with the UK to ensure harmony between the directive and UK legislation.

Jordan mechanic helmet Obviously, this issue is very important to the FIA Formula One World Championship as five of the current teams have a major tobacco backer and it is rumoured that one more, Prost Grand Prix, could shortly be announcing a tobacco title sponsor. The only teams not to have such a sponsor are Jaguar, Williams, Arrows, Sauber and Minardi. At the same time, tobacco companies spend a lot of money each year on track signage at grands prix.

As it stands now, The FIA have agreed to begin introducing a partial, voluntary ban as of 2003, with a complete "phase-out" by 2006. However, should this new directive be successful, a full ban could be in place by 2003.

This development comes at an interesting time, given that the FIA and the EC appear to have reached and agreement on the anti-competition issues that caused the latter to carry out a multi-year investigation into the way the commercial side of the FIA Formula One World Championship was run.

In the UK, the sport was given special treatment, as it was exempted from the full tobacco sponsorship ban, and the issue became highly contentious after it was revealed that Bernie Ecclestone had made a significant donation to the ruling Labour Party.

Therefore, it is rather unlikely that the EC directive, if successful, would contain any special treatment for this sport.





Malaysia Sepang
Sepang aerial view
The FIA Formula One World Championship moves to Malaysia next week, with the death of race marshal, Graham Beveridge, hanging over the sport. The million-to-one chance that another volunteer marshal should have been fatally injured so shortly after a similar tragedy in Italy, only 6 months and four races earlier, will be sitting heavily on their mind.

There is no guarantee that it will not happen again and whilst the race organisers at the Sepang circuit have already stressed that every possible measure has been taken to ensure the safety of drivers and trackside workers alike, the atmosphere at Sepang will be highly charged.

Race organisers have done well to stage their second race inside of five months - Malaysia having tailed last season's schedule and been put in second slot for this year. Michael Schumacher won last year's race, following mistakes by both McLaren drivers that saw the German go from third to first and secure the constructors' championship for the team - following his drivers' title won at the previous race.

Indeed, Schumacher has not lost a race since the fateful event at Monza and there is no indication that he is likely to for a sixth time in Malaysia, such was the overpowering presence of Ferrari in Melbourne.

Schumi + Brawn + Barrichello + DC on podium It will be the third time that the race will have been held in the oppressive humidity and jungle environment of the Sepang F1 Circuit, but by all accounts it is fast becoming a popular if demanding track for a lot of drivers. Situated to the south of Kuala Lumpur, the recently built circuit features state of the art facilities for both drivers and fans. With high-speed corners, long fast straights and tight hairpins, it's as wide as a four-lane highway and should promote more than a few opportunities for overtaking.

According to Sauber's Technical Director, Willy Rampf, the mixture of tight corners and long straights will require a high degree of downforce, only Monaco and the Hungaroring requiring more. "Overall however, the grip level is quite low," he explained. "The number of relatively slow-speed corners and the very tight chicane place a premium on traction. Therefore we will be focusing on maximising mechanical grip. The circuit has two relatively long straights, and offers enterprising drivers good opportunities for overtaking. The weather is always an unknown factor in Malaysia, therefore a qualifying session on a wet track would be a good challenge for all the teams."

In the war being waged between tyre manufacturers, established suppliers, Bridgestone, and their contracted teams will have the initial advantage over newcomers, Michelin. However, preseason testing has shown that the French tyres seemed to work marginally better in the wet and there will almost certainly be some rain over the course of the race weekend.

Mika drives past Visit Malaysia banners According to Jaguar boss, Bobby Rahal, it has rained four out of the last five years in Sepang on March 18th (race day for the 2001 season). "This will inevitably make for an exciting spectacle," he said. "Something we hope to be a part of."

The battle for grip has also caused lap times to be dramatically reduced. Schumacher's pole position time in Melbourne was almost four seconds faster than Hakkinen's front row time the previous year and one could expect similar results across all 17 Grands Prix this season.

With ticket sales down from last year the race will not be shown live in Malaysia, in an attempt to lure fans to the track to watch the action first hand. There are still 90,000 tickets unsold.

Jordan in front of Malay grandstand If Hakkinen wants to get on the podium trail then he will have to have a car that is up to the job and not only will he have Schumacher's Ferrari to contend with but his team mate also, will be out to increase his points tally from Melbourne.

"It's a bit of a tall order to get our speeds up to beat Ferrari in time for Sepang," Coulthard said. "Ferrari are always on the ball so it will be hard to beat them. But if we find what we are looking for in the car, then it's something we can do. But only time will tell if it is enough for us to catch up with Ferrari."

The midfield brigade of Jordan, BMW WilliamsF1 and BAR proved that they were not far behind in Melbourne and should the race prove to be a damp affair, any of these drivers could be chasing down the leaders.

On the strength of things however, it could be that Malaysia will have its third successive Ferrari victory and only, it seems, McLaren can save the Sepang history writers from adding another scarlet page to their book.