Vodafone and Ferrari whizz past the rest of 'em

Vodafone will take to the F1 track on the front of Ferrari cars and is set to run the Ferrari Maserati Group net.

Chris Gent, chairman of Vodafone, announced the three-year deal at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, surrounded by the Ferrari high command and drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichelo.

Race aficionados will see the Vodafone logo on the nose, side-pod and front wing of the Ferraris for at least three seasons, beginning 2002. The logo will also appear on the drivers' overalls and helmets.

Gent said: "This is an exceptionally good deal for us. It is moving us into the super league of world-wide branding. We don't just want to be part of the super league - we want to be at the very top of it."

Ferrari said that all of its internet activity would be offered 'exclusively through the English telecom group.' Vodafone, who also sponsor Manchester United, will have exclusive access to the Ferrari content for delivery of products and services bearing the Ferrari brand across the mobile network.

Vodafone will also be creating a central service center to develop proprietary and customized services along with products sporting the Ferrari brand for Ferrari fans to access across the world.

Ferrari.Net is one of the more elaborate sites on the web with a large number of country Ferrari user sites as well.