JUNE 22, 1998

Air Canada to the rescue

AS we predicted two weeks ago Air Canada is to sponsor the Canadian GP for the next five years. The airline will replace cigarette manufacturer Players, which has agreed to end its title sponsorship early because of anti-tobacco legislation in Canada.

The deal should guarantee the future of the event although there remain questions over whether the new legislation will ban tobacco signage on the F1 cars. If it does the F1 teams may decide not to bother with Canada as there is no shortage of other countries wanting races.