Di Montezemolo Hits Hard at Subliminal Livery Claims

The presumed use of subliminal “bar code” livery on the Ferrari F10 car has made the headlines in recent days, as some media in Great Britain suggested the Italian company is actually advertising Philip Morris products through it(tobacco ads are forbidden in Formula One).

After the Scuderia strongly denied such allegations via a press release last Friday, the rumors continued to surface on the Internet in the following days. Even today, nobody knows for sure what the course of actions will be in this case, meaning if Ferrari are actually under investigation or not.

Although explaining the role of the bar code like livery on their cars, Ferrari didn't seem to have convinced everybody of their innocence. Luca di Montezemolo yesterday issued a statement of his own, hitting hard at “some experts” who are searching for “theories that have no scientific basis.”

“Frankly, I find this argument completely pointless and it is verging on the ridiculous to claim that the color red or a graphic design which shows a bar code could induce people to smoke,” said the Ferrari chairman in the statement.

“At a time when, on the other side of the Atlantic they are fighting to provide a more equal health service, in the old continent of Europe, so called experts are racking their brains to come up with theories that have no scientific basis: I think there are more important matters to think about than a bar code.”

“Therefore, it’s best not to waste any more time replying to this sort of nonsense or to those who are instrumental in wanting to stoke up the story,” concluded Di Montezemolo.