New Renault F1 team sponsor
Journalists have been invited by Dutch bank ING Group to a press conference in Amsterdam, 'regarding sponsorship of the Renault formula 1 team'.
The event at 'ING House' will be headed by ING vice chairman Cees Maas as well as Renault bosses Flavio Briatore and Alain Dassas.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis hinted at Suzuka that his team had unsuccessfully courted the backing.
He told reporters: "We understand it will be a pretty comparable (deal) to the one they had with Mild Seven."
10/05/06 (GMM) Dutch bank ING has confirmed reports linking it with sponsorship of the Renault team in 2007 and beyond.
A spokesman on Thursday admitted that the company is in talks with the world champion squad, amid speculation that ING could replace $50 million per year title sponsor Mild Seven.
Renault did not comment.
''F1 (would) provide us with a platform on all continents where we are active,'' Peter Jong said, but he insisted that the deal is not yet signed and would not comment on the proposed cost.
Jong added that ING Groep NV could also appear in the future on trackside advertising hoardings.
10/03/06 According to reports out of Holland today, ABN AMRO will not be the sponsor of the Renault team, instead ING (another Dutch bank) will be. The deal will apparently be signed at the end of this week and will be for 5 years and worth € 50 million (US$ 62 million) per year.
10/02/06 (GMM) Renault appears to have found a replacement for departing cigarette title sponsor Mild Seven.
With anti-tobacco advertising laws forcing the Japanese brand off the grid for the 2007 season, it is understood that team marketing manager Jason Campbell has been successful in tabbing a new deal.
The Netherlands' largest global bank, ABN AMRO, will this week be confirmed as the French team's next multi-year title sponsor, according to sources.
It is suggested that McLaren was also interested in the ABN-AMRO cash, but could not guarantee substantial exposure due to the Vodafone title sponsorship in 2007.
The deal could see the light blue on Renault's blue and yellow single seater become dark green for the 2007 season.
Mild Seven's annual contract was estimated at around (US) $50 million.
10/02/06 According to this Dutch website, ABN-Amro bank (a Dutch company) will replace Mild Seven as the primary sponsor for the Renault F1 team.