Ferrari F1 cars to sport Tata logos in 2009

Ferrari will soon sport an Indian touch. While motor sports has been on a crash course for the past few days - with Honda pulling out of Formula One and Suzuki and Subaru exiting the World Rally Championship, in a trend reversal of sorts, Indian corporate giant Tata has widened the scope of its agreement with Ferrari for F1.

'Widened scope of agreement with Ferrari, for enhanced technology'

Tata's subsidary company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), today said it has entered into an agreement with Ferrari for enhanced technology and marketing partnership that will see Tata logo displayed on the Italian auto giant's F1 car in 2009 season.

"It's Historic''

"For the first time an Indian brand will appear on the Ferrari,'' president Luca di Montezemolo told Italian media. "It's historic'' A Ferrari spokesman confirmed a deal had been reached and said the details and duration would be announced shortly.

“The position of the logo will be revealed at the launch of the car. The duration of the agreement is three years,” the spokesperson said.

'Agreement for 3 Years'

Tata is no stranger to F1 and this is not the first time a Tata logo will feature on an F1 car. Tata was involved earlier in a brand sponsorship with Jordan in 2005 and Williams in 2006. The Williams sponsorship, which costed around Rs15 crore per annum, consisted of the Tata logo being prominently featured on the nosecone of the car and drivers’ helmets and racing suits.

IAB Comment: Historic or not ! Tata is indeed Heroic ! Tata, the saviour of top European marques, including Jaguar and Land Rover, has now become a household name internationally. It would be very amazing to see Tata expand its market globally, and launch a world car !