SOCIAL MEDIA: MCLAREN REVEALS MEXICAN GP LIVERY TWEAK FOR TOBACCO SPONSOR

McLaren will run modified sidepod graphics in Mexico City this weekend, swapping its usual branding for a heavier Velo presence. The team framed the change as a fan-inspired celebration, but Velo is a nicotine-pouch brand owned by British American Tobacco, and the timing is standard playbook: high-visibility race, localized sponsor push, PR wrapped in community engagement.

F1 outlawed tobacco advertising two decades ago, yet BAT, Philip Morris International, and their subsidiaries remain embedded in the paddock through "reduced-risk" product lines. McLaren's partnership with BAT dates to 2019. The FIA permits it as long as the branding avoids combustible tobacco, a regulatory gap that keeps the money flowing while the optics stay clean.

The livery shift lands as McLaren battles Ferrari for the constructors' championship. The real race in Mexico won't be about papaya paint schemes—it'll be whether Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can extend their points lead with three rounds left.