The word champagne had always been synonymous with the sport, and in the Bernie Ecclestone era that extended to one producer securing the rights to be an official partner of F1.
Moet et Chandon had the deal for many years, and subsequently, Mumm took over. In 2016 there was a brief move to sparkling wine with McLaren partner Chandon, but the brand was part of the French LMVH luxury goods group under the umbrella of Moet Hennessy, and arguably not such a huge step away from the traditional product.
F1 quickly returned to champagne with the nascent Carbon brand in 2017, and when that deal concluded after its fourth season a replacement was needed.
The F1 organisation decided to eschew champagne and make a long-term commitment to sparkling wine, a move that reflects a wider trend as makers worldwide seek to prove that consumers don’t have to look to a particular region of north-eastern France for a quality product.
What makes the deal unusual is that the F1 organisation’s “official toast” partner shares its name with Grand Prix racing’s most famous team.
For the past three seasons, the Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren drivers have thus been spraying bottles with a “Ferrari” logo prominently displayed, unless they are at a Middle Eastern event where alcohol promotion is not allowed.
It’s an unusual arrangement given the potential brand confusion, but Ferrari is the third most common surname in Italy, and it’s hardly surprising that over time it has found its way into the names of very different organisations.
There is no connection between the winemaker and the car manufacturer, other than a friendly relationship that goes back to the early days of Enzo Ferrari.
In fact, the winery has a much longer history than the Maranello factory, the business having started in the Trentino region, close to the Austrian border, when Enzo was just four years old.
Founder Giulio Ferrari ran it from 1902 to 1952 before deciding to retire. With no children to take over, he decided to look for a suitable purchaser, eventually settling on local wine merchant Bruno Lunelli.
“Giulio Ferrari chose my grandfather,” says current CEO Matteo Lunelli. “He thought that somebody from the region would be good to keep it strongly linked to the territory of Trentino. And my grandfather was distributing the wine of Ferrari, and he was in love with the brand.
“He was not the richest pretender, but Giulio thought he was the perfect one to bring over his vision…
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