The red goes red and white

THE FIA entry list also revealed that Ferrari wants to be known in the future as "Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro". This is a major break with Ferrari tradition - and we expect to see a lot more Marlboro on the cars - although the team has been gradually slipping away from running cars without commercial sponsorship.

Team founder Enzo Ferrari was never keen on sponsorship unless the company involved had a direct link to motoring, such as an oil supplier. Ferrari has been linked with Marlboro since 1978 when Gilles Villeneuve carried Marlboro decals on his helmet. In the early 1980s Marlboro worked out a deal in which it paid the retainers of the Ferrari drivers and in 1984 the first discreet Marlboro logos appeared on the cars. These have grown larger with each passing year. In 1987 Ferrari added a small sticker on the nose of the car and this has been growing as well. In 1991 Ferrari concluded a five-year deal with Japanese car stereo company Pioneer - Ferrari claimed it was a technical relationship.

In 1993 Marlboro appeared on the rear wings as well and last season all pretense of avoiding sponsorship disappeared with the arrival of overt backing from the luxury goods firm Asprey and Telecom Italia.