Ferrari F1 going racing with... Tata Motors?
An historic event will take place at the start of the 2009 Formula 1 season as Italian Ferrari grand prix cars will be emblazoned with the logos of an Indian automaker for the first time ever. Tata Motors, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, has purchased rights to sponsor Ferrari's F1 racing efforts. Details of the duration and the dollar amount have yet to be revealed. This isn't the first time Tata has been involved with F1, however. A few years back, it was a sponsor of both Jordan and Williams' F1 efforts.
The partnership is not as left-field as it might initially seem, as Fiat (which owns the Prancing Horse) has a few joint ventures with the Indian automaker. Ferrari, being a very small manufacturer of roadgoing supercars, requires sponsorships such as this to continue racing in such expensive series as Formula 1. For Tata, placing its corporate logos on Ferrari race cars outwardly associates them with one of the most prestigious marques in the world, a move they doubtlessly see as key in their push to become a global automotive force.
[Source: Times of India]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
rndmnme 4:36PM (12/18/2008)
BLASPHEMY!
Oh wait, who cares Bernie Eccelstone is still running the show. They really might as well be racing Nano's.
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inteller 4:36PM (12/18/2008)
can we blur their logo like they did with Marlboro?
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AZZO45b 5:30PM (12/18/2008)
I'm sure FIAT would love to blur the Tata logo. Odd, a few years ago they used the Ferrari F1 car to promote their new 'retro" logo... now they are promoting a competitor? Guess $$$ talks...
Perhaps Honda should have approached Ferrari before they spent 600-700 BILLION last year in F1 to finish behind Force India in the WCC???
tuna 6:22PM (12/18/2008)
@ AZZO45b
http://www.ferrariworld.com
http://www.tatamotors.com
Looking at the vehicle line-ups. In what way is TaTa a competitor to Ferrari?
AZZO45b 7:18PM (12/18/2008)
Tuna... Google F-I-A-T
Fiat owns Ferrari & promoted FIAT on the Ferrari F1 cars. FIAT makes entry level cars & IMO does compete with Tata.
Reading & COMPREHENSION ... its a wonderful thing, when practiced.
tuna 8:38PM (12/18/2008)
@ AZZO45b
FIAT may own Ferrari, but it is not FIAT that runs in F1. It is not called Scuderia FIAT.
Intelligence. Get some.
vik 8:47PM (12/18/2008)
@ AZZO45b
Do yourself a favour and google 'Tata Fiat'
I'll even put the link in for you
http://www.tatamotors.com/our_world/press_releases.php?ID=213&action=Pull
That way you'll see that Tata and Fiat have a partnership of sorts as both Tata and Fiat share a dealership network in India
Anyway, Tata and Fiat are not exactly competitors, sure they both might make hatchbacks, but the target markets for both manufacturers are completly different
Kinda like comparing an Audi a3 with a Ford Fiesta
As you said
'Reading & COMPREHENSION ... its a wonderful thing, when practiced'
tuna 8:54PM (12/18/2008)
Also, the blog entry headline is a bit misleading... feeding to the controversy. Tata Motors is only a part of the Tata Group, which has a wide range of business activities... among which is the hotel targeted in the recent Mumbai terrorist attack. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal_Hotel
Tata Group bears the same logo as Tata Motors. If it's TaTa Group that is sponsoring Scuderia Ferrari (more likely), it's no different than Vodafone's sponsorship of McLaren.
The FIAT brand has little to no presence in F1.
tuna 9:03PM (12/18/2008)
And, in the Indian Times article that is linked:
"While Reuters has reported that Luca di Montezemolo revealed that it was the Tata brand which would appear on the bodywork of the Ferraris next year, it wasn't exactly revealed whether it is the Tata Group (as we think it is) or is it to be Tata Motors as per rampant speculation. The Tata Group would join such big names as Shell, Alice (an Italian internet company), Acer Computers, AMD microprocessors, drinks giant Martini and Dubai-based finance and investment firm Mubadala as the main backers of the Ferrari F1 team in 2009."
Ah yes. Reading and comprehension...
AZZO45b 12:32AM (12/19/2008)
Tuna: What part of FIAT being represented on Ferrari (until '09) don't you comprehend jag-off??? Besides Marlboro, FIAT bankrolls Ferrari so they can be in F1... if Fiat is paying the bills for you to be on track... I think they matter.
Again you are misreading what I said. I never said Fiat overpowered Ferrari in terms of team identity... YOU keep saying this I'm stating Fiat reinforced to the public that these two companies were interlinked. Mercedes doesn't promote another car brand on the McLarens... Renault could promote Nissan on the F1 car, but keep French cars their focus.
AZZO45b 12:51AM (12/19/2008)
Vik: Thanks for the news on TaTa & FIAT's Indian business relationship. This Ferrari F1 deal makes a bit more sense...
... However, Fiat had a working relationship/ partnership wth GM a few years back. Sorry but I missed the Chevy, Opel, or Holden logo that could have been used (on the Ferrari F1 car) to promote that working relationship.
I also comprehend that entry level Tata cars meet much different needs than Fiat's. Again many of Fiat's cars are "entry level" as are the Tata efforts. I'm also aware Tata builds cars at much lower price points.
All of that doesn't effect my original point... Fiat used the Ferrari F1 team to build up their corporate image. It also wrapped the Italian flag around BOTH.
tuna 1:54PM (12/19/2008)
@ AZZO45b
Keep yapping. You are still wrong and you've failed to heed your own advice regarding reading and comprehension. The blog entry assumed it was Tata Motors when the source it links states clearly states that it isn't known whether it's them or the parent company, Tata Group. Read it. What part of that don't YOU understand?
Ferrari may be under the FIAT umbrella according to the corporate organization chart but the two companies operate on their own. Ferrari has full control of itself. FIAT may pay the bills, but the fact remains: Ferrari IS Ferrari in F1. No one calls them by FIAT Ferrari or Scuderia FIAT. So this FIAT vs. Tata conflict of interest thing is nothing more than your overinflated ego and imagination. The flaws have been pointed out, not only by me, and it's in "print". Get over it.
AZZO45b 11:57PM (12/19/2008)
Tuna: Keep coming off like a jerk... working great. I repeat... re-read & COMPREHEND. You keep stating things I never typed.
I never said Ferrari F1 cars were referred to as FIAT... you did. I have repeated that Fiat found value in placing their logos on the F1 cars. They also would promote Michael Schumacher & other Ferrari drivers providing testing & assisting with the R&D of select Fiat models.
Most race fans know Tata makes CARS...(Vik pointed out a business relationship between Fiat & Tata). Mitsubishi makes a wide range of products including cars. Yamaha has multiple holdings as well.
My point??? The racing public (IMO) would do a double take if Mitsubishi's diamond logo appeared on Toyota's F1 effort... or Yamaha's tuning fork icon appeared on McLaren or Renault (due to their ties to rival transportation).
Lose your prick-like arrogance & understand why Ferrari/ Fiat should expect confusion over this deal. It has NOTHING to do with Tata being an Indian company... it has everything to do with the fact that most know them as a car manufacturer (& for '09 they have bumped the parent company's car brand off?)
collegekid13 6:43PM (12/18/2008)
that picture makes me want to cry
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Basm 4:38PM (12/18/2008)
"An historic event..."
Grammar mistake, thought you should fix it ;)
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C Smith 4:44PM (12/18/2008)
Where's the error?
Jon 4:58PM (12/18/2008)
http://www.betterwritingskills.com/tip-w005.html
Kitko 6:17PM (12/18/2008)
An hour - because the sound represented by H is not pronounced / au... /
A historic... because you actually pronounce it / historik / - you don't pronunce it / istorik / as in Illinois.
alden 4:41PM (12/18/2008)
Wow...having a partnership or not, that just looks all sorts of wrong.
Wonder if I can afford a TATA F50?
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C Smith 4:47PM (12/18/2008)
And while they can find millions to go racing they are asking the British government for aid to support Jaguar/Land Rover...
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