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[Denthúl]

Thought this was worthy of its own thread.

ING ends Renault deal immediately

By Jonathan Noble Thursday, September 24th 2009, 18:56 GMT

Renault title sponsor ING has terminated its deal with the French car manufacturer with immediate effect on the back of the team being found guilty of fixing last year's Singapore Grand Prix.

Just days after Renault was handed a two-year suspended ban for its involvement in causing a crash in Singapore 12 months ago to help Fernando Alonso win, ING dropped a bombshell in the early hours of Friday morning when it announced it was ending its involvement in the team immediately.

A statement issued by ING confirmed that it had chosen to pull its sponsorship deal because of the events of the last week.

"ING announced today that in light of the verdict of the World Motor Sport Council of 21 September 2009 concerning the events that occurred at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, ING will terminate the contract with Renault Formula 1 with immediate effect," said the statement.

"ING is deeply disappointed at this turn of events, especially in the context of an otherwise successful sponsorship. As announced on 16 February of this year, ING decided not to renew the three year sponsorship (2007-2009) contract with Renault F1 and to end its presence in Formula 1 after the 2009 season."

A spokesperson for the Dutch banking giants confirmed to AUTOSPORT that the decision will result in the ING logos being removed from the cars and other team areas.

However she stated that ING's commitment to trackside advertising would remain until the end of the year.

ING's decision comes hours after Spanish insurance company Mutua Madrilena announced that it was also ending its Renault sponsorship deal as it felt the team's involving in the race fixing scandal amounted to a breach of contract.

Big news and a lot of money being taken away from the team. Has a title sponsor ever dropped a team mid-season before?

[NocturnalTendencies]

That's too bad, another major sponsor by the wayside. Then again... with the economy in it's current state, this is the perfect opportunity for them to bail out with no questions asked.

[Tony_sa]

looks like renault might be making space for sauber on the grid after this one.

[Frosty]

not to big a deal.
These contracts were going to end at the end of this season anyway! ING must of had a clause in the contract so it could jump ship early

[Denthúl]

True, but I think Renault would prefer to get the money for the whole season rather than have it cut short. I wonder what the cars will look like now, then? Will they just have whitespace where the ING logo used to be or will they cover it with something else, do you think?

[myownalias]

I guess that the "CHEAT-ING Renault F1 Team" images that popped up didn't help!!! The R29 will be looking rather naked for the remainder of the season with two sponsors jumping ship. Is this enough to drive Renault out of Formula 1? It depends on whether or not they can get another title sponsor before January I'd say. I don't see a lot of big name sponsors wanting to be associated with a team that has been proven as cheats regardless of who was in-control of the decisions!

[Denthúl]

I guess that the "CHEAT-ING Renault F1 Team" images that popped up didn't help!!! The R29 will be looking rather naked for the remainder of the season with two sponsors jumping ship. Is this enough to drive Renault out of Formula 1? It depends on whether or not they can get another title sponsor before January I'd say. I don't see a lot of big name sponsors wanting to be associated with a team that has been proven as cheats regardless of who was in-control of the decisions!

It depends on who goes there, I guess. If Alonso or Raikkonen are driving for Renault next year, some sponsors could still be enticed. The Nokia rumours are still going around...

[cap-dude]

ING is a bank. All banks are in the trouble. They would have left at the start of this year if they could. This is only an excuse to get out of a contract early so they can avoid losing much more money in such a difficult time.

But F1 moves on, just as we lost tobacco sponsorships, and now we're losing bank sponsorships, F1 will find new ventures. I said this last year, that I think phone companies will be F1's next batch of investors. LG are moving to expand their role in F1, and I heard Orange were looking at an F1 deal. Plus we already have groups like vodafone and Alice.

Renault will be just fine. Actually, that awful livery will also be going hopefully. So really, its good news in my opinion.

[myownalias]

If Raikkonen goes to Renault, they may get sponsorship from Walls or Ben & Jerrys

Alonso is almost certain to be in a red car next season... and I don't mean a Renault with a red livery! Renault don't have the pull that they did when they signed with ING, their tarnished image and lack of a win (assuming that it doesn't happen) this year will not make them a prime target for big sponsors, but we shall see what transpires!

[al4x]

im hoping for nokia.. blue!

[cap-dude]

If Raikkonen goes to Renault, they may get sponsorship from Walls or Ben & Jerrys

Alonso is almost certain to be in a red car next season... and I don't mean a Renault with a red livery! Renault don't have the pull that they did when they signed with ING, their tarnished image and lack of a win (assuming that it doesn't happen) this year will not make them a prime target for big sponsors, but we shall see what transpires!

Very true. Renault are not a very attractive team at the moment. But then again, 2007's spy scandal didn't hit McLaren so hard. Then again, it wasn't very clear cut what happened with the spy-scandal. With this, its plastered everywhere that Renault cheated a win.

Not only that, with Alonso gone, they lose the subsequent interest he brings to the team.

Total wanted to expand their sponsorship deal with Renault. Wonder if thats still on

[Denthúl]

Total wanted to expand their sponsorship deal with Renault. Wonder if thats still on

According to James Allen, it is. I think Alonso, Raikkonen or Kubica could bring significant interest to the team. However if they were to end up with, say, Grosjean and Kovalainen/Trulli or someone like that (I know the chances of those two going there are slim) then it may cause problems.

[myownalias]

I wonder if Renault are likely to pay for a big name like Raikkonen, Alonso or Kubica after everything that has gone before, especially with Renault suffering in the car market.

[kerc]

Again, I feel bad for the Renault F1 employees.

[Hexagram]

Renault have the money to cope with this. ING had only 4 gps left on the contract anyway.