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Mark Daniels: Jenson Button’s Smoking Ban Woes
5 December, 2008
One can't help thinking that if Honda had advertised cigarettes rather than environmentally-friendly cars, their current Formula One troubles wouldn't have existed.
Jenson Button entered Formula One in 2000 amidst a ballyhoo chorus touting him as Britain’s next Formula One World Champion. His performances at the BMW-Powered Williams team that year caught the attention of many, especially at the Spa-Francorchamp’s circuit, and the stage was set for a brilliant British come back on the Formula One circuit.
All that could be about to end ignominiously, however, after the announcement this morning from Honda’s Chief Executive Officer, Takeo Fukui, that the Honda Racing F1 team would be withdrawing from the sport with immediate effect and, if a buyer cannot be found by March ’09, would be closing completely.
Honda have entered and exited Formula One several times, originally joining in 1964 and marrying itself to several teams throughout the eighties and nineties until, eventually, buying the remaining shares in the British American Racing team at the end of 2005. BAR, a team born under the watchful eye of British American Tobacco, had endured a controversial five years in the sport but had been created out of the acquisition of the Tyrell team in 1999 with the main aim of capitalising on Formula One’s global presence – and its omnipresent tobacco sponsorship.
Almost every team has, at one point or another, been made wealthy through the provision of finances by giant tobacco companies and British American Tobacco used the sport’s vast television audience to promote its Lucky Strike and 555 brands, powered around the circuit by Honda engines and figure-headed by the 1997 World Champion, Jacques Villeneuve. Button joined the team in 2004 and his performances immediately upset his Canadian team-mate, who felt the young upstart should defer to him – an attitude which ultimately saw Jacques’ career come to an end and sprung remarkable comparisons to the problems faced by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in 2007.
But with the demise of tobacco sponsorship, banned today in many Western countries, Honda took complete control of the team from BAR, made Button the team-leader and set about taking on Ferrari and McLaren for the title of Constructor’s Champion.
Sadly, despite a solitary win and some podiums in 2006, the team’s performances have been woeful and in today’s collapsing global economy they announced this morning that the team was up for sale and out of the sport for good, unless a buyer can be found. Their junior team, Super Aguri, foundered earlier this year, quitting the sport after only a handful of races as the economy started to bite and funding from their parent company waned.
And other Formula One teams are feeling the pinch too. The Williams Formula One team, the only true private team left on the grid, are also experiencing financial problems and Honda’s direct rival in the automotive market place, Toyota, have significantly reduced their F1 budget for next season. It’s clear that as the financial crisis gets a stronger hold on the car manufacturing industry, companies like Honda feel that the £150million currently spent each year on running their Formula One team, and employing almost 700 members of staff in Brackley, Northamptonshire, could be better spent on developing the FCX Clarity.
Indeed, Honda’s focus on promoting environmental concerns in a sport that is both decadent and ecologically unsound could well have proven to be their downfall. Rather than running with vast sponsorship stickers on their car, they have tried using the vehicles to promote the need to turn green. One can’t help thinking that if they had run with tobacco advertising their funding woes wouldn’t have existed.
In fact, if many of the teams were allowed to run with cigarette sponsorship then Formula One – the world’s self-proclaimed richest sport – would not be in the financial mess it currently is, and Jenson Button wouldn’t be running the risk of having to join the list of Britons about to be unemployed.
And there’s the solution to the world’s global financial meltdown: the tobacco companies have millions to spend on advertising, their financial power could simply help give the economy a boost, it would get all forms of sporting industries out of trouble, and repealing the smoking ban would get Britain’s hospitality industry moving once again.
It’s controversial, but it might just be the answer to our problems...
Readers' comments
Unfortunately, the denormalisation of smokers in todays hysterical obsession with 'health' will destroy many businesses and the future of many trades. I am quite surprised that a dangerous sport like F1 has not been attacked more forthrightly, rather than by the back door of financial starvation. I personally do not believe that smoking is particularly any more dangerous than racing motor vehicles in controlled situations, nor do I believe that ones freedom to partake in a specific activity, knowing there is some risk, should be subdued by a frightened minority of charity workers who are intent on lining their own pockets by using a combination of lies and dubious science. I also believe that if there is any truth at all in this propaganda, then market forces will ultimately create the demise of the tobacco companies. As an example, I would like to point out that smoking prevalence has fallen year on year for a good number of years until bans were implemented. now it is back on the increase. The answer it would seem is to educate, even with lies so that smokers stop voluntarily because they believe it is bad for them. Smoking of course will never be totally eradicated because of the pleasure, increased concentration and relaxation properties that it produces. Many of our most famous and powerful leaders were smokers. Many of our most brilliant scientists and inventors were smokers and many of our most talented artistes and actors were smokers. As a pastime, smoking is a little like motor racing, football, drinking alcohol, taking drugs and any other distraction from real life which excites the mind and creates an escape from the real world. It will always be a way of showing ones contempt for life, and a few bullies flexing their anti smoking muscles will not stop those who wish to partake of the delightful experience of tobacco. If the tobacco industry wants to spend it's cash on advertising and sponsorship of big sport for huge numbers of the population of our world in order to attract new business, then I can see that it will entertain millions of people worldwide, and the majority of those will NOT be smokers. I think that that upsetting a few anti tobacco zealots would be a tiny price to pay for that amount of pleasure. To finish I would like to lay down a challenge. If anti tobacco thinks it is so perfect, then perhaps it would like to sponsor these sporting activities itself.
Well they did always say that the world was run on tobacco, didn't they? Look what happens when they start treating smokers like lepers? Need I say more? I don't think it's a controversial suggestion that you make at all. Many smokers simply refuse to spend because of the way they are treated in their own country. I know several in my circle of friends. Personally, I don't blame them. I think your suggestion is a sensible one, The trade could be given the choice of whether to run smoking or non-smoking establishments (or a mixture of both). And let's face it, we're all being told how much more dangerous obesity and alchohol is than smoking, yet adverts for food and drink are everywhere. Double standards if you ask me, yet it is the country's financial loss. The tobacco companies must be rubbing their hands together with glee. All the free advertising they're getting with the ban (on the door of every public place, including vehicles), smoking rates up, share rates up, smoking in full view of everyone now we're all outside or at home, and they're not having to even spend a penny for this free promotion. It's utterly crazy.