Ferrari drops 'Mission Winnow' from team name

© XPB 

It's but a minor detail in the grand scheme of things but Ferrari has dropped the 'Mission Winnow' label from its team name.

In an updated entry list for the 2019 F1 World Championship, the Italian squad simply appears on the ten-team list as 'Scuderia Ferrari'.

The House of Maranello has not released any information about the presence of 'Mission Winnow' on its SF90 car, but Ferrari  could play it safe in Australia and scrap the name either partially or altogether to avoid any potential legal wranglings.

Ferrari and long-time commercial partner Philip Morris International introduced the 'Mission Winnow' scheme at last year's Japanese Grand Prix as an initiative by PMI destined to "demonstrate our commitment to continuous innovation and development of new solutions that can expedite positive change for society."

Earlier this year, Australian authorities opened an investigation into the tobacco company's Mission Winnow logo - which advertises a product that doesn't really exist - believing it's presence is a bit too reminiscent of the famous Marlboro logo.

The 'Mission Winnow' concept could therefore be construed as a blatant marketing strategy to bend global anti-tobacco advertising rules.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter