Jump to full article: The Publican, 2008-12-05
Author: Mark Daniels
Intro: 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. . . .
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.
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