Ferrari’s new Marlboro deal is worth almost half a billion dollars to the famous Italian team.
The Maranello based team, officially known as Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, said in a brief statement this week that Philip Morris International had extended its existing contract to the end of 2015.

The original deal was set to run until the end of next year.

The anti tobacco-advertising rules in F1, Europe and most of the rest of the world means that Marlboro’s actual red and white branding cannot be displayed on the Ferrari single seaters.

But Sportspro reports that Philip Morris is still pledging $160 million to Ferrari for the F1 sponsorship each year.

The new deal follows Ferrari’s inauguration of a new F1 logo for this year, with its angular red and white colours and black wording closely resembling Marlboro cigarette packets.

Ferrari on Thursday unveiled a new logo for its formula one team.

The current logo features the infamous ‘barcode’ that was recently removed from the F10 car, following suggestions it subliminally advertised Marlboro cigarettes.

But the new logo, to be used from 2011, remains red and white and is more angular than before, moving some observers to surmise that it reminds them even more of main sponsor Philip Morris’ product.

And team boss Stefano Domenicali told reporters at Silverstone: “I can confirm that next year the team name will be the same — Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.”