Body blow for Renault F1 as ING decides against renewing its three year sponsorship contract

Dutch financial services giant ING has become the latest big brand to terminate a major sponsorship deal, having decided not to renew its contract with Formula 1's Renault team. "In light of the recently announced cost reduction programme", says the company's statement, "ING confirmed today not to renew the three year sponsorship (2007-2009) contract with Renault F1 and to end its presence in F1 beyond the 2009 season".

Press reports suggest that the deal may have been worth over £40 million a year to Renault's Oxford-based team. Initiated late in 2006, ING’s participation in Formula 1 was the company’s first global sponsorship project, aimed at delivering revenue and raising global brand awareness, particularly in the company's key growth markets. Burden The company claims that it has achieved its objectives for the F1 sponsorship over the past two years, raising its overall global brand awareness by 16% (March 2007 versus November 2008). Clearly F1 remains a powerful business driver even in a difficult economic climate. But this latest development comes hard on the heels of Honda's decision to pull out of Formula 1 and the FIA's imposition of a series of economy measures to ease the financial burden on FI teams. ING's move comes after it had already embarked on a swingeing cost cutting programme, shedding 7,000 jobs     from its workforce and paring its F1 sponsorship costs by 40% in the final year. Revenue generating opportunities will be "a continuing focus" for the company through 2009. ING says it has enjoyed the relationship with Renault F1 and will continue to work closely with the team during the final year of the partnership.