F1: Renault's major sponsors run away

Just two days ago, Renault F1 issued a statement saying "Following the unfortunate recent events, the Renault F1 Team has reacted swiftly by implementing a new temporary management team structure, which will be in place from today until the end of the 2009 season."

Fernando Alonso was besieged by reporters as he arrived in Singapore, and found himself in the position of having to defend his 2008 win, a win which our lead motorsports reporter Bryan Edwards maintains was fully deserved in the light of a near-metronomic performance by Alonso around a new and high-risk track.

There are, seemingly, few that think that the team should have escaped the WMSC hearing with a sentence as light as a suspended disqualification. And Bernie Ecclestone is bolstering his friend and business partner Flavio Briatore's case that his lifetime ban was excessive.

Renault was being rather more than hopeful when it said on the 23rd September "no further comments or statements will be issued relating to the events of Singapore 2008."

Just the next day, its major sponsor pulled the plug on the money - four races early. ING Financial Group will have a lot of trouble dis-associating itself quickly - and if Renault want to get sticky, they might cause a lot of trouble in return. For ING run extensive TV and print marketing featuring the image of Renault's cars, and one assumes that Renault tied the use of those images to the sponsorship period. It is, simply, not feasible that ING can pull many of those adverts, especially those timed to appear to coincide with the Singapore 2009 event that starts today.

As for Renault, they have to decide whether to run "white label" cars this weekend. If ING have pulled out with immediate effect, then it is, again, logical to assume that the use of their image and branding is tied to continuing sponsorship. Therefore Renault may have no choice but to simply block out the sponsor's logos. There is, realistically, no prospect of producing new body shells and aerodynamic aids in th UK and shipping them to Singapore before the race, much less before practice starts this evening.

But, as if it were not enough that ING has withdrawn, another financial group, Spanish Insurer Mutua Madrilena, also announced that it would cease support for the team with immediate effect. Mutua Madrilena has said that it will not cancel its sponsorship of Alonso personally. Given the amount of camera time he is bound to get this weekend, that's a smart move. And it is in accordance with the widespread view that Alonso is as much a victim of this scandal as anyone else.

ING had planned to end its Renault deal at the end of this season: it supports F1 in many ways and car sponsorship is not, strangely, the way its name gets seen most clearly - that's banners at circuits, similar to RBS. So the penalty of their withdrawal is defined: it's four races.

Not so with Mutua Madrilena. And, unlike ING, the Spanish company made its position brutally clear: "Mutua Madrilena believes the conduct of the relevant people in the team was of extraordinary seriousness and not only compromised the integrity of the sport but also put the physical safety of spectators, drivers and circuit personnel at risk."

Renault told the WMSC "Renault F1 and its parent company have given serious consideration as to whether it should remain in the sport following the prejudice caused to its corporate image by the conspiracy, in addition to the existing background of financial pressures that have caused car manufacturers to withdraw," the team said in a written submission to the FIA. But it has concluded that it would like to remain in Formula 1 and continue to make an important contribution to the sport."

The big question now is a blunt financial one: can Renault F1 run the last four races without the money that, according to industry sources, is more than half their operating budget. Sure, F1 pays for their transport to and from races but aside from that they need to actually run the team, develop next year's car (even if they immediately cease development on the current car) and to produce customer engines for which they are under contract.

As the news of the sponsors' withdrawal came yesterday, Bob Bell, the newly appointed technical director issued via the team's website a statement. He said "Based on our experience last year, I would say that night racing has not caused too many difficulties for the team...We do have developments planned for some of the remaining races and they will come along in due course. There’s nothing major but they are sensible upgrades that are already in the production process. Our main development focus is now completely on the R30 and getting ready for 2010."

The site still bore the logo if the ING Renault F1 Team as of this morning, demonstrating just how difficult it will be to unravel the linked identities in a short time.