Ever since the first appearance of the Red, Gold and White colors of the Imperial Tobacco's Gold Leaf brand sponsorship livery at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, teams, drivers and circuits of Formula One (F1) for years had been heavily dependent on the financial backing of sponsors and from the arrival of Gold Leaf for many decades the tobacco industry played a major role in sponsoring the sport. In 1976, West Germany began a trend in outlawing tobacco sponsorships in motor races, followed by the United Kingdom in 1984, starting with major races and outlawing the rest of the sponsorships in later years. In 1992 France did the same. As anti-smoking legislation began to tighten in many parts of the world F1 became an even more important opportunity for cigarette brand promotion. The negotiating skills of the F1 leadership (especially Bernie Ecclestone) were such that in many jurisdictions F1 achieved some exemptions from the rules. However, there is now a blanket ban on advertising in the European Union (Directive 2003/33/EC), and the cars are not allowed to show any links with the tobacco companies. As a result, tobacco advertising started to exit F1. In , WilliamsF1 became the first major team to run without tobacco sponsorship, and McLaren later replaced the West brand and no longer have any tobacco sponsors. Renault ended the deal with Mild Seven after the season, and in the same year British American Tobacco, owners of British American Racing team, withdrew from F1, selling the team to Honda. Ferrari on the other hand renewed their arrangements with Philip Morris in 2005 and later in 2011.