Although it’s not the most well-known relationship in the industry, India’s Tata Motors and Italy’s Fiat have actually had close ties for years. That relationship has grabbed some headlines in recent weeks as Tata has upped its stake in Ferrari’s racing operations, but could that be a sign that the Italian automaker has fallen on some hard times?

Tata has been onboard with Ferrari’s racing teams for years as an information technology consultant – under Tata’s Tata Consulting Services division – but the Indian conglomerate is now stepping up to be a key sponsor of the Italian automaker’s F1 efforts.

Like most of the automotive world, Fiat – Ferrari’s parent company – is struggling through the current economic downturn, but hasn’t yet turned to government aid. Instead, the company is relying more heavily on partnerships, like the one forged with Tata Motors.

But Tata’s new partnership with Ferrari could be hiding the exotic car maker’s woes. An inside source told Edmunds that “All is not well. The 612 Scaglietti has apparently stopped mainline production, and F430 orders have been hurt hard by the launch of the California.” Additionally, Ferrari could announce 300 job cuts by the end of the year.

Whatever is going on behind closed doors, it looks as though Tata is in for the long-haul as Ferrari’s F1 sponsor. In fact, there are rumors circulating that Tata could soon replace Marlboro as Ferrari’s main sponsor. However, even if Tata does supplement Marlboro as Ferrari’s main sponsor, the Indian automaker will only use its logo, not the company name, on the cars and clothes.

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