ING and Mutua Madrilena Drop Renault

[Mibz]

Effective immediately. Sucks to be Renault.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78831

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.

[GOnSHO]

wow, thats HUGE news

sucks to be Renault.. thats a lot of capital lost

[KISS_ME]

I dont know too much about sponsorship deals but it seems to me that ING wants to use this scandal as a breech of contract to get out early. I wonder if they'll if they'll have enough capital to pull through with the rest of the season.

[cloud7]

I don't blame them for using this as an excuse. Both companies were hurting because of the financial crisis.

[DJ Lazy]

Renault's world currently:

[Roaring G60]

Don't forget about the implications for Red Bull Racing, potential loss of Renault as a engine supplier and no certain guarentees behind the rumored use of Mercedes engines next year (current rules only allow a manufacturer to supply only two teams, Brawn applied for a exemption for this year)

[Chris Elyea]

Originally posted by KISS_ME
I dont know too much about sponsorship deals but it seems to me that ING wants to use this scandal as a breech of contract to get out early. I wonder if they'll if they'll have enough capital to pull through with the rest of the season.

That's exactly what I thought about ING when I first heard about it. Watching practice today, the Speed crew was saying Renault has stepped up and reaffirmed their commitment to F1 and their other racing efforts as well.