F1: Anti-alcohol group attacks Heineken deal

FIA president Jean Todt has again come under fire from Europe's leading anti-alcohol lobby group in the wake of Formula 1's high-profile deal with brewing giant Heineken.

The European Alcohol Policy Alliance (Eurocare) is a coalition of non-governmental and public health organizations across 25 European countries advocating prevention and reduction of alcohol-related harm in Europe.

F1's $200 million, four and a half year deal with Heineken has infuriated Eurocare's secretary general Mariann Skar. She has written an open letter to Todt expressing her strong opposition to F1's recruitment of alcohol brands.

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While the FIA plays no part in the commercial deals struck by F1 commercial chief executive Bernie Ecclestone as it is simply the regulatory body, Skar feels Todt has a duty of care given he is a UN special envoy for road safety.

Ecclestone and the World Health Organization's director general Margaret Chan have been copied in on the letter, among others.

Skar declared Heineken's involvement "a major concern because alcohol and driving should not be mixed", and argued "alcohol brands are now dominating sponsorships in F1, linking a popular motorsport to one of the major killers on our roads, drunk driving."

Alongside Heineken other alcohol brands in F1 include Martini (Williams), Chandon and Johnnie Walker (McLaren) and Kingfisher (Force India).

Skar added: "Alcohol marketing has a powerful effect on society, in particular on young people. F1 is close to becoming more an event for granting the global exposure of alcohol brands than a sporting event.

"It is ... worrying that F1 is now bringing the link between alcohol brands and motorsport even closer together."

In her letter to Todt, Skar concluded: "We would like to request that you take this issue seriously and consider moving away from these sponsorship agreements, as you did with tobacco sponsorship.

"FIA is not without responsibilities, being the governing body of F1 and also being one of the shareholders in the sport."

Skar fears Heineken's arrival, despite the campaign it wages against drunk driving via its "If you drive never drink" campaign, has simply exacerbated a problem she is trying to eradicate.

"F1 should ask themselves if they want to be a motorsport or an alcohol brand event?" she wrote. "When monitoring F1 in Monaco Grand Prix 2015, we found 11 references to alcohol brands per minute, averaging one reference every five seconds. How will it be when Heineken comes in as main sponsor in addition to the others?

"If both the sport and the drinks producers want to be seen as responsible industries, they should stop this deal and move away from alcohol sponsorship in F1."

Originally on Autosport.com