It is likely that a cigarette brand will never again be outwardly visible on the livery of a formula one car.

Other teams - notably Renault, McLaren and Honda - farewelled their tobacco-fuelled dollars a couple of years ago, as anti-advertising laws swept Europe and the world.

Ferrari, however, opted to renew its association with Philip Morris, and until recently has been displaying Marlboro logos where possible, including in places like Monaco and China.

But at the recent Bahrain grand prix, where local laws theoretically would have allowed Ferrari to run tobacco branding, the two F2008 cars instead displayed the so-called ‘barcode’ livery - reminiscent of the Marlboro signage but using white markings instead of letters and logos.

According to Autoweek magazine, Ferrari has confirmed that Marlboro logos “will no longer appear on its cars”.

Reportedly, Philip Morris, owned by Altria Group, decided that the ‘barcode’ livery should be permanent.

The first Marlboro branded cars were the BRM and Iso Marlboro-Fords in 1972, before the long and famous associations with McLaren, and subsequently Ferrari, began.

Marlboro’s current Ferrari contract, estimated to be worth around $1bn in total to the Italian team, expires in 2011. A blanket ban on all tobacco sponsorship in F1 will come into effect in 2009. (GMM)