FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[bud]

The Dutch bank ING on Monday announced that it will end its Formula One sponsorship activities at the end of 2009.

It was already clear that Renault's embattled title sponsor was reviewing the F1 programme - which also includes trackside advertising and naming sponsorship of Grand Prix - because of the global financial crisis.

The Dutch government recently moved to safeguard ING Group, who had posted a second consecutive multi-billion dollar quarterly loss and decided to cut F1 spending by 40 percent this year.

The three-year title sponsorship of Renault was due to expire at the end of this year.

A statement said ING has decided ‘not to renew’ the deal and therefore will ‘end its presence in F1’ beyond 2009.

"ING has enjoyed the relationship with Renault F1 and will continue to work closely with the team during the final year of the partnership," the statement added.

So Renaults short partnership will come to an end, So again will have to find another title sponsor.
One idea is Santander... possibly be title sponsor if Fernando does stay? obviously would have to break the deal with Ferrari but you never know.

[dwightschultz]

This was bound to happen with the current financial crisis. As a company you can't justify sponsoring an F1 team any longer when you just fired 7000 people...

[Gert]

Could be the excuse Renault need to leave F1, that & Falv's doing 1 at the end of this year.

[cap-dude]

Meh, at least with ING gone, Renault can get back to designing nice looking F1 cars.
ING was one of those sponsors who tried too hard at times. Trying to pretend they knew plenty about F1, when it was clear for them its nothing more than an investment. Main incident, that annoying loud mouth Woman who toured the gird at times.

[8-ball]

Could be the excuse Renault need to leave F1, that & Falv's doing 1 at the end of this year.

If Renault don't win anything this year then I fear the board will remove the team from F1.

[Martin]

Meh, at least with ING gone, Renault can get back to designing nice looking F1 cars.
ING was one of those sponsors who tried too hard at times. Trying to pretend they knew plenty about F1, when it was clear for them its nothing more than an investment. Main incident, that annoying loud mouth Woman who toured the gird at times.

Only there is a new sponsor.

The future of F1 looks a bit bleak for the next few years I think. If the know-how and expertise gets split up it will be very difficult to get it back in the future.
We need new teams now and Bernie & Moseley must find a way, or, I fear, irreparable damage will be done to the sport.

[Gaz]

its a bank all banks are going to do this.

they can't justify sponsor ship if there respective goverments bailing them out.

don't think it will be a problem there will be plenty of sponsors waiting to get there name splashed across the car.

[Martin]

its a bank all banks are going to do this.

they can't justify sponsor ship if there respective goverments bailing them out.

don't think it will be a problem there will be plenty of sponsors waiting to get there name splashed across the car.

I wish I had your confidence Longbow, remember, we were 1 team short at the start of last season, 2 short halfway through when Aguri fell over, that was before the financial problems and there were no sponsors queuing up then. Now we have lost Honda also, maybe to be recovered - lets hope so. Renault, Toyota & Torro Rosso may not be comfortable by the end of the year.
Who are the sponsors going to be? Why now and not before?

[EwanM]

Briatore says Renault have 'solid future'

By Jonathan Noble Monday, February 16th 2009, 12:30 GMT


Renault chief Flavio Briatore is confident his team have a 'solid future' in Formula One despite the impact of losing title sponsor ING at the end of this year.

With Renault having already been surrounded by widespread speculation about their future in the sport because of the increasingly gloomy financial outlook for car makers, the team's situation has not been helped by ING's decision to end its involvement in F1.

However, Briatore remains upbeat that, with F1 embracing a number of cost-cutting measures, he can look to the future with confidence.

"During the past three years, the team and ING have enjoyed a rewarding and successful relationship," Briatore said in a statement on his team's official website.

"ING has been an enthusiastic and supportive partner for the Renault F1 team in all respects. They have been a true success story and have become a brand that is recognised worldwide thanks to an innovative and proactive sponsorship programme with our team and Formula One.

"However, we have been aware for quite some time that the world's current financial climate was calling for a restructuring of our sport and with FOTA we have moved in that direction.

"Drastic cost reductions have been on FOTA's agenda as one of the first priorities and with the ongoing programme of measures we are confident we can guarantee a solid future for our team and for Formula One."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73313

Dennis: F1 still attractive for sponsors

By Jonathan Noble Monday, February 16th 2009, 13:37 GMT


Formula One has no reason to fear that ING's decision to quit the sport is a precursor to other high-profile sponsors heading for the exit.

That is the view of McLaren team principal Ron Dennis, who thinks that F1 continues to offer great value for sponsors despite the financial difficulties faced by companies worldwide.

Banking giants ING announced on Monday morning that it had decided not to extend its involvement in F1 beyond the end of the year, having been Renault's title sponsor since 2007 alongside other involvement that included trackside advertising and race naming rights.

And although doom mongers may suggest that ING's decision to turn its back on F1 may be a warning sign that other big backers could walk away, Dennis thinks that the sport's base remains strong.

Speaking to autosport.com about what ING's decision meant for F1, Dennis said: "Clearly, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment specifically on ING's decision, other than to make the observation that it's obviously something of a special case because ING is a bank that has faced particular challenges recently.

"Having said that, I want to take this opportunity to emphasise the fact that Formula One remains a hugely attractive sponsorship proposition, which offers an extremely powerful return on investment for the companies involved.

"Indeed, ING's statement included the following sound bite, reiterating what its marketing executives have said publicly many times: 'Over the past two years, ING has successfully achieved its objectives for the Formula One sponsorship, raising its overall global brand awareness by 16 per cent [March 2007 versus November 2008]. Formula One remains a powerful business driver even in a difficult economic climate.'

"Undoubtedly, that's true. And, working under the umbrella of FOTA, all the Formula One teams intend to do their utmost to power through this economic downturn together, delivering optimum return on our partners' and sponsors' investment as we do so."

ING's decision to leave F1 came after it was forced to make dramatic cost cuts in the wake of an expected one billion Euros loss for 2008.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73316

[Gaz]

its a bank all banks are going to do this.

they can't justify sponsor ship if there respective goverments bailing them out.

don't think it will be a problem there will be plenty of sponsors waiting to get there name splashed across the car.

I wish I had your confidence Longbow, remember, we were 1 team short at the start of last season, 2 short halfway through when Aguri fell over, that was before the financial problems and there were no sponsors queuing up then. Now we have lost Honda also, maybe to be recovered - lets hope so. Renault, Toyota & Torro Rosso may not be comfortable by the end of the year.
Who are the sponsors going to be? Why now and not before?

Yeh but USF1 is comming in, Torro Rosso is for sale but "safe" Renault is safe just lost a bank - sponsor same as williams.

with the cost cutting more teams will come in.

[headless]

Renault need to get a new main sponsor then - otherwise the exit door is looming.

[Rivelution]

I'm glad they commited til the end of the year instead of just ditching Renault, you got to give them credit for that.

[headless]

I'm glad they commited til the end of the year instead of just ditching Renault, you got to give them credit for that.

Yeah, very nice of them.

[Rivelution]

I'm glad they commited til the end of the year instead of just ditching Renault, you got to give them credit for that.

Yeah, very nice of them.

I cant tell if that was sarcastic or not. I can never tell when someone is sarcastic online

[headless]

Haahhah.
I know what you mean.
I can't work it out myself either!