Comments on: ING quits F1 – will Renault follow?

By: Polak

Polak — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:44:43 +0000

I think the next wave of big sponsorship is going to be oil companies. I know they play a large role right now, but not as large as banks. With the recent oil prices ******* everyone off and talks of global warming these companies could use some image boosts.

By: antonyob

antonyob — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:03:00 +0000

“goIng goIng gone” was surely the headline keith?

By: DG

DG — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:32:50 +0000

If VW Group enter F1, they will probably do it with Red Bull, as they have big ties there already – I thought RBR had been talking to VW about supplying engines already? Maybe the situation just doesn’t suit them.

By: Leon

Leon — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:02:56 +0000

Not a chance Bakano mate !

This is the biggy. The ninth wave. From my sources
the word is that virtually all current sport sponsorship
is going to be hit very hard indeed. The reason for that
is quite simple; when the chips are down ( and boy are they down ! ) big investors in Banks and other major international companies tend to regard sport sponsorship
as simply frivolous. And these are the guys who ultimately call the shots.

It is not a very nice situation for F1 to be in at all and I suspect that all the racing will look meaner and less high-tech for a while, simply to keep the racing going. Sadly, people like Ecclestone don’t seem to be getting the message that HIS charges for what he provides have to be drastically reduced now like all the other racing costs, or there won’t be any F1 racing for him to make ANY money from.

Talk about killing the goose thats laying all those
golden eggs ! If the current teams could see a significant reduction in their overheads right now, those teetering on the brink of quitting might just be able to hang in there for a couple more seasons.

But is anybody listening to the cries for mercy ?

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:53:02 +0000

Headline figures from Renault’s financial statements make grim reading:

Revenues for the year were €37,791 million, down 7% over the year and 28.7% in the final quarter
Operating margin came to €212million

* End-2008 inventory was down €666million compared with 2007
* Automobile’s net financial debt increased by €5,856million to €7,944million owing to a sharp reduction in activity coupled with yen appreciation
* At end-December 2008, the Group had €4.2billion in confirmed credit agreements for Automobile, of which €518 million drawn down, and €5.2 billion for Sales Financing, of which €753 million has been used. In addition, the French government has announced a loan of €3 billion, and a two-fold increase in RCI Banque’s drawing facilities at Société de Financement de l’Economie Française (SFEF) to €1billion.

By: TeamOrders

TeamOrders — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:18:59 +0000

I’d say better than 50:50 chance Renault will be gone for 2010….. ouch

By: BaKano

BaKano — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:37:53 +0000

Santander wont back Renault. They already signed a contract with Ferrari, when Alonso was with Renault (although the rumours of a switch to Ferrari in 2009 were still ongoing).

In fact, this is a good indication that Alonso will go to Ferrari eventually!

By: Chalky

Chalky — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:42:14 +0000

The company I work for sponsors Renault F1.
I won’t mention the name, but it’s a minor sponsor. You can see the company name when you get the large hi-res photos
When I found out about the sponsorship, I was pretty excited being an F1 fan. Free tickets sprung to mind. Well No! Not a chance. There were 2 competitions for staff last year. Both gave out free t-shirt \ cap & bodywarmer. The rather minor sponsorship also allowed the company to visit 2 test sessions. But these were not opened up to staff. They were to wow current and potential clients. We get to see the Renault F1 pics all over the company posters \ screensaver \ wallpaper too. Good job this hasn’t been enforced by GPO.

So if Renault do leave F1 I couldn’t be happier. Perhaps they’ll be some money in the pot for a pay rise. Wishful thinking….

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:31:41 +0000

Lets be honest, you don’t need expensive advertising to sell beer.

By: DG

DG — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:23:52 +0000

I thought the Dieago (?) sponsorship would bring a whole carload of rivals into the sport – especially since most are global companies these days. Talking of Vice Sponsorship though, would Playboy return I wonder (and black cars too?)
On a more serious note about Renault – surely now Bernie and Max have to swallow their pride and allow the Manufacturers just to supply engines/chassis to whoever wants to buy them? If we lose any more teams there will be no point in the others racing….