Okay, okay, ... what he actually said was that the Scuderia hired him "for marketing reasons." Well I filtered that through my custom disgronification circuitry (based on the original Rush Limbaugh patent) with the anti-Belgian Political Correctness subroutine switched on, and it transliterated Ickx's "probably for marketing reasons" claim to "because he's black" in plain English.
Well, guess what?
Lewis Hamilton’s impact on Puma: Ferrari merchandise sales surge eightfold
How Lewis Hamilton's arrival at Ferrari has boosted Puma's Ferrari-branded merchandise
Not sunglasses. Not polo shirts. Sneakers. 8x.
Ickx (with an assist from El Rushbo) scores an A+ for sagacity.
While reading this it occurred to me what a BRILLIANT move Ferrari has made. Buying F1 championships is seriously expensive. Yet despite their best (-funded) efforts, the Scuderia hasn't won a WDC since 2007 or a WCC since '08.
But with Hambone as pitch-man for their sneakers, they're making bank, regardless how badly the drivers or the team come in the championships.
Genius!
Pimp my Ferrari