Much Ado About a Whole Lot: Should Logo-Shaped Trophies Be Allowed in F1?

Last week, I wrote an article regarding what a trophy at Monza should look like, and how a certain corporation took it and made it into its own logo.

Apparently, it was true that the trophies broke the rules, and it got a bit of press coverage, including a mention of the article linked above.

Thankfully, the Monza track wasn't fined, but I hope that a stern warning was sent out, since I find that the threatening of a fine is a lot worse than actually receiving one.

Trophies are a symbol of one's achievement, either as a champion or a race winner.

Now, someone mentioned that for the new races where there is not a lot of tradition behind it, maybe logo-shaped trophies should be allowed.

While the intentions may be good, I think that logo-shaped trophies for anywhere sets a terrible precedent.

Why? Simply because after a certain number of years, when the company that sponsored a race decides to move on, their logo-shaped trophy becomes a tradition, and that company basically gets free air time—that's not fair to the current sponsors, is it?

We already see air time for sponsors that are no longer sponsoring a race. The curbs used on the racetracks are painted red and white, for the colours of the Marlboro cigarettes logo, a company that is no longer allowed to promote races because of anti-tobacco laws.

Some of these things are seen as tradition, and while I don't like to see these specific things as tradition, I'm a minority so I might as well bite the bullet.

Sport needs corporate sponsorship to survive, the cars are already high-speed billboards and the companies that sponsor them get their money's worth; that is why you see ING still sponsoring Renault after a very lackluster 2007.

Simply put, I hope that these few incidents of attempting to increase air time for the sponsor remain as relegated to history, and we can see an eye-pleasing trophy. Simply because everything else is a logo, let's keep this item as a sponsor-free zone.

Just to clarify: Putting the sponsor's name on the plaque of the trophy is fair game.