The FIA felt Renault’s deliberate crash in last year’s Singapore Grand Prix was hardly worth punishing.
But two of the biggest names on the teams’ cars no longer wish to be tainted by association with the team’s flagrant act of cheating.
Title sponsors ING jumped ship within hours of Mutua Madrilena abandoning the team. Neither of their logos are expected to remain on the car this weekend.
ING were already going to end their association with the team at the end of the year. But they haven’t gone quietly, issuing a stinging statement leaving no-one in any doubt of why they’ve dumped Renault four races early:
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.
ING is deeply disappointed at this turn of events, especially in the context of an otherwise successful sponsorship.
On the face of it, Mutua Madrilena could be running true to form by leaving the team but remaining with Fernando Alonso. The company did much the same when it left McLaren to join Alonso at Renault in 2008.
The company may now be about to follow Alonso to Ferrari, as it looks increasingly likely the Scuderia will announce him as a driver for 2010. However it’s not hard to see why an insurance company would not want to be associated with a team that deliberately caused a crash.
There has already been vociferous condemnation of the FIA’s weak punishment of Renault from the media and the majority of fans. This is a further indication of how serious Renault’s transgression was, and how the FIA failed to deliver a suitable punishment.
Alonso, meanwhile, has shown no regret for what happened and the team are obviously eager to sweep the matter under the carpet. The FIA are apparently happy to collude with them in this, and spared Alonso an appearance at today’s press conference for drivers. There will be no Renault representative at the teams’ press conference tomorrow either.
When Alonso was tracked down by Autosport’s Jonathan Noble he brushed off a series of questions about the incident and showed a distinct lack of remorse for his ill-gotten victory.
Asked what the trial had done from the reputation of the sport, he said:
I am not an expert of that. I only know what is about me, and what is about this weekend – which is the only thing that really matters.
Fernando Alonso
I had nothing but admiration for Alonso when he railed at the FIA following his patently unjust qualifying penalty at Monza in 2006, famously declaring “F1 is no longer a sport.”
That same sense of sporting integrity now seems to have deserted him. I hope he finds it again soon.
Perhaps the disappearance of two of his team’s major sponsors within hours of him declaring “That is behind us and we move on,” will persuade him that this is a bigger deal than he would like to believe.
Renault Singapore crash controversy
- Do F1 drivers help decide strategies? Alonso doesn’t, Hamilton does
- Who is Renault’s ‘Witness X’?
- Mosley says Renault got the ‘harshest penalty’ but hardly anyone agrees
- Nelson Piquet Jnr wants F1 return
- Renault escape ban for crash (Poll)
- Renault face Singapore hearing today
- Singapore Grand Prix organiser says: "There’s no such thing as bad publicity"
- No punishment for Briatore or Symonds?
- Did more foul play by Renault scupper Schumacher in the 2006 title decider?
- Fernando Alonso should renounce his Singapore Grand Prix ‘win’
- Briatore and Symonds step down as Renault accepts Singapore crash charge
- Piquet-Renault scandal: more new evidence and complaints about leaks
- Statement by Nelson Piquet Jnr on his Singapore crash leaked online
- Did Piquet crash on purpose? (Poll)
- Renault face Singapore crash hearing
- Nelson Piquet Jnr and Fernando Alonso in renault Singapore claim
- Piquet’s scathing attack on Briatore
- Nelson Piquet Jnr dropped by Renault
- Alonso and the Piquet-Renault fall-out
- 2008 Singapore Grand Prix analysis
- Fernando Alonso’s bad luck turns good for win (2008 Singapore Grand Prix)
Image via @lukehmuse on Twitter
Hammer time
24th September 2009, 22:49
Oh dear, it would appear Renault stated intention to stay in the sport may be word only. No sponsors means your team is going nowhere
Superbus
25th September 2009, 0:03
Yeah it looks like they’re going to be out of the sport regardless of the weak punishment handed out to them.
El Gordo
25th September 2009, 8:59
Brawn seem to be doing well for a car with only a couple of sponsors on it.
RFB
25th September 2009, 17:19
… and over 100 million dollars from Honda
Robert
24th September 2009, 22:54
They were going to lose those sponsors at the end of the year anyway. Besides the moral outrage, this gives them a chance to save some money by ending their involvement early.
I figured that with the current economic climate, there weren’t going to be many companies with deep enough pockets to become Renault’s new title sponsor. But now with this over their heads, they may have to resort to offering bargain basement rates for ad space.
MacademiaNut
24th September 2009, 23:04
I think one of the “not” should not be there. Why will an insurance company be with you if you are going to deliberately crash? To get more premium from you for the rest of your life?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
24th September 2009, 23:08
Fixed, ta.
MacademiaNut
24th September 2009, 23:15
I saw it in 2006 and I see the video again, I still don’t see a block.. sissy Massa even taking his hands off the wheel after the lap to express his disgust when he did not even get close to Alonso’s car in that lap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEk_coNFZqY
Chalky
25th September 2009, 10:10
You don’t need to be that close at Monza to get disrupted by the turbulent air from another car.
Clay
24th September 2009, 23:25
Every cloud has a silver lining…
Now that ING in particular is gone, does that mean that we might see an end to the worst F1 paint scheme of recent years? Hopefully by Suzuka, or at worst Brazil, might there be a chance for Renault to run in their 25th (might have been 30th actually – yellow and black) anniversary scheme of a few years ago? That looked awesome!
Start the campaign Keith – no more minga cars!
JHunt
24th September 2009, 23:32
I am with you on that one ! Didn’t see the irony of the insurance co associated with the crash until Keith brought it up here though .. maybe they should have turned it around to the effect of .. no matter how or why you crash your car, we have you covered !
ajokay
25th September 2009, 0:09
Thirded. Now that ING have gone, the white and orange can go too. Bring back the yellow and black/blue of old!
sato113
25th September 2009, 1:30
a silver linING!
AP
25th September 2009, 6:38
I think the car looks better with out the logos on it…LOL
And one a side note can we stop the witch hunt on Alonso soon maybe???
Not sure what HE has PERSONALY done, yes he won the race, but there was still atleast 3quaters of a race to go after PK crash…
So he still had to win the thing, and how he had any influence over PK and his actions is hard to fathom.
I’m your Boss I put a gun in your hand and say to you shoot some one and I will give you a contract (money) would you do it?
Now to go 1 further…I am your work mate, and the boss gives you a gun and says shoot some one and you do HOW does that implicate me????????????????????
gabal
25th September 2009, 7:53
I think that they are suffering because of their scandal. This picture didn’t really help in making ING happy for example as it damages their brand. Usually when sponsors leave the team they say in their statements how much they have benefited from the partnership and so on, this is an obvious sign they are extremely dissatisfied with Renault.
Oh, and I would love to see them race in that gorgeous black and yellow livery – also, PLEASE change team uniforms as well if possible – drivers and mechanics look like they are wearing daipers in them.
I think they will have to change lolipop as well…
arporter
24th September 2009, 23:36
they should put a big smiley face of piquet on the sidepods
Ned Flanders
25th September 2009, 3:56
Not quite sure what purpose that would serve… but they should do it anyway! They should also rename turn 17 as ‘eejit corner’…
Hallard
24th September 2009, 23:42
Keith, I love the Pic you posted without the ING decals, I was just thinking about how the car would look this weekend. My question is this: Do you think that ING will insist upon Renault removing the ING-themed coloring as well, in order to prevent any lingering resemblance or portrayal of their brand? If they did it would be great, even if they left it plain white; I, like many, loathe the R29’s livery. But it might make it confusing for the commentators to have Brawn look-alikes on the track!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th September 2009, 0:15
ING have said their logos won’t appear on Renault’s cars, but they will remain where they have advertised on tracks:
http://twitter.com/NobleF1/status/4349313069
I would be surprised if Mutua Madrilena’s logos are on the cars.
159Tom
25th September 2009, 1:31
I’d like to see a farewell message on the cars, something like “Up yours ING”, “f***ING useless” or “RunnING off with our money”.
Or dare I suggest the driver’s name in big letters and the car number. A bit old-fashioned I know, but if the teams have nothing else to write there, why not help the fans identify them?
Chalky
25th September 2009, 10:14
Perhaps they will run the classic Renault yellow instead? That would be much nicer.
BTW – The company I work still sponsor Renault F1. I haven’t heard anyone rumours of them pulling out. But then it’s such a tiny sponsor you need a great big pic of car to see the name. We also have plenty of Renault F1 themed pictures around the company walls and desktop wallpaper etc. to remind us all. I wonder if ING had a big company destuction event of ripping off pictures of Renault from the walls and smashing them in their offices? :D
DMW
25th September 2009, 0:11
Maybe they could paint “Fred” and “Romy” in giant letters on the sidepods like McLaren used to to post-West.
Some bright lawyer flagged a default clause and off they went. And they knew Renault is not going to drag them to court over it and face more humiliation, and lose. This is called kicking someone when they are down. ING also probably reckons that since Fred is going to the reds they are not going to be getting the same bargain as before anyway.
Bartholomew
25th September 2009, 0:54
The cars should have “Fast Freddie” and “The French Government”, since they are helping Renault.
The colours can be red yellow and green
William Wilgus
25th September 2009, 1:37
Sorry, but I can’t agree with your `kicking someone when they’re down’. It’s simply the ultimate way of saying `we’ don’t condone what they did.
santori
25th September 2009, 0:34
I can’t agree with the tone of this article. ‘…issuing a stinging statement leaving no-one in any doubt of why they’ve dumped Renault four races early’? No. It’s expediency being presented as morality, which is something I find very irritating.
mvi
25th September 2009, 0:50
I agree. It’s a great opportunity to save millions and look good at the same time.
gabal
25th September 2009, 8:08
I’m not sure how sponsorships in F1 work but I think sponsors pay up front for ads on livery, in that case it costs nothing less ING to stop sponsorship 4 races early…
S Hughes
25th September 2009, 0:57
Maybe they genuinely are being moral, or are trying to be. It is still possible in F1 you know, despite it seeming otherwise.
verstappen
25th September 2009, 8:34
I am from the Netherlands, and I think they are (partly) being moral. This is the bank which by default doesn’t give you money if making a receipt is not possible at the ATM. The receipt being more important then the money..sums it up to me.
And this is the country where we made the great video2000 system, which lost from the worse VHS… Because our moralistic bosses didn’t want porn to be available on their beloved system…
Oh and by the way ING got some 8 billion euros taxmoney to save their asses… It would be very unmoral to keep on sponsering a cheating team with our tax money, I guess.
Baz
25th September 2009, 8:37
Having your company logo associated with an F1 team that has committed, what many consider to be, a heinous crime is bad for business.
Adam Tate
25th September 2009, 0:54
I’m with everyone who is excited that the cars might be able to get rid of that horrendous ING livery now! Anything looks better than that. Paint em up pretty like the R25 and R26 from Alonso’s heyday and he might just get a legitimate win at Singapore this time haha.
CRM
25th September 2009, 0:54
I don’t think anyone can blame these companies for dropping Renault instantly. If they are paying Renault a lot of money in to dispaly their logos they can at least expect that a) Renault will play by the rules of F1 and b) they won’t be dragged into/associated with cheating controversies.
Renault may have got off lightly with a suspended ban but i think we are now starting to see how damaging the scandal has been to them.
S Hughes
25th September 2009, 0:55
I started to intensely dislike Alonso when he tried to inhibit his teammate’s opportunities at McLaren; this dislike intensified even more when he openly said he would try and help Massa win the title last year (not even his own team) and seemed to cheerlead the bullying against Hamilton. This man is a disgrace. He has no integrity. What kind of man wouldn’t try and distance himself from crashgate? He hasn’t even condemned it when he benefited from it. He clearly lacks morals or honour and yet he appears to get away with it. I read Jonathan Noble’s interview (well done him) – how childish Alonso seemed: “I will change my language if you continue to question me” about a topic that involves him deeply.
Well Fernando “what’s a strategy” Alonso: disgrace, happy to benefit from the most atrocious cheating, dishonourable man, that is what you are.
BTW, I have to credit a forum member on another forum for Alonso’s new nickname.
Paul
25th September 2009, 1:03
Grosjean and even Piquet have remarked how helpful Alonso is at Renault.
Martin
25th September 2009, 1:51
They were no threat to him at any time and after watching the 2 of them he could just said follow me and use my car setup and they still wouldnt have done any better. Romain was so so this year as Hulkenberg dominated the series.
William Wilgus
25th September 2009, 1:41
I fail to understand how Ferrari would want someone like Alonso. He seems to completely lack integrity and certainly has not shown any inclination of being a `team player’.
Martin
25th September 2009, 1:52
If alonso ends up at ferrari, I believe after a year or 2 they will part company on less than great terms.
inc0mmunicado
25th September 2009, 2:44
soundsexactly like someone who’s driven for them a few years ago…
F1Fan
25th September 2009, 10:19
I HATE Alonso with a passion, hes one of those sportsman who you know what nothing more tahn just to win,. although this is good in someways, it isn’t when they would cheat, be a dick and generally disregard others to get what they want.
I wish Alonso was found guilty and banned in this cheating stuff, then I wouldn’t have to put up with watching this guy go round the track and wishing he would crash…
Carl27
25th September 2009, 15:42
I can see that many in this post would like that to happen , I think is just fear that if he joins Ferrari, he could beat Lewis. To me it would make it even more exciting to have the two top drivers in the top teams!
By the way Hate is a very big word for someone that you probably don’t even know personally.
159Tom
25th September 2009, 1:46
How on earth is he going to fit in at Ferrari?
Sounds like there’s a happy “family” atmosphere there since Domenicali’s been in charge, look at his words in support of Massa when guaranteeing him a drive, the team’s generosity towards Badoer, and the warmth of Fisichella’s welcome.
I guess Alonso will help Massa too, until Massa starts beating him.
Martin
25th September 2009, 1:49
I am starting to agree about the action of fernando.. his true colors are really starting to show.
Last year also shows how intimidated he is by hamilton. Very sad to let a rookie intimidate a 2time wdc..
TeamOrders
25th September 2009, 3:09
Boy, talk about turning a molehill into a mountain. In 2007 the guy wanted #1 status at the team, and he didn’t like his team mate much (because he was fast). If that adds up to a lack of integrity then just about every driver to ever sit in an F1 car lacks integrity.
Did LH come out and condemn his team in 2008 over stealing the ferrari files? Did he offer to give up his wins obtained during that year. Of course not, sheese, nor would we expect him too.
John H
25th September 2009, 7:49
Good post TeamOrders. People are getting a little caried away on here.
However, this is slightly different to Hamilton coming out renouncing his win, because the link here was so direct.
Alonso would have done himself no harm by saying what happened was wrong.
mp4-19b
25th September 2009, 4:19
I second your opinion Hughes!Mr X has really stooped to the lowest possible level a human can go.He’s not only short in his stature but also in character. Teams have to realize this fact. This “short” man is extremely dangerous for the sport. He tried to blackmail a great team & a great man that existed since before he was born.He is just trying to appease Luca di monty & ferrari thats all.He always wants to be in the limelight. Wants to make the front page of every spanish news paper.Mr X is making a serious mistake. He has lost respect among the elders of the sport.
Gagan
25th September 2009, 5:08
R U BRITISH ?
Parkp
25th September 2009, 5:59
S Hughes – I often sit back and read your grossly self-righteous and judgmental posts on this site. It is clear that your support for ‘Lewis’ goes beyond his abilities as an F1 driver. Notwithstanding this fact, your contempt for Alonso shows you to be as one-sided and unfair as any of his alleged actions.
You seem to forget that your driver (and I’m speaking as a Brit, not that nationality comes into this) was caught red-handed cheating himself this season. Of course, because of his tearful apology, this seems to have exonerated him. F1 is about winning – and I am not condoning Renault’s actions here – but to call someone lacking in morals just because they are a professional sportsmen (and one of the finest drivers F1 has ever known – in my opinion), and don’t want to have to face the inevitable barrage of media questions on a race weekend, is naive.
I think Keith’s analysis of this has also surprised me in its jumping to quick assumptions. Especially the point about strategy. From the interview with Hamilton, he was essentially making the same point as Alonso, in that he is not involved directly in setting strategy. There are some races, as he said, that he does comment on, as I’m sure Alonso does. It is hardly fair therefore, to say that Hamilton ‘does and Alonso ‘doesn’t’ set strategy.
I am admirer of both Hamilton and Alonso, but hate to see such flagrant ill-advised comments.
TMAX
25th September 2009, 6:16
@Parkp .Interesting replies. all the while reading through this article and the other one from Keith about Strategies there was only one thing that was going through my mind.
How did it used to work between Brawn and Schumey both at benetton and ferrari?
Needless to say this was one of the most formidable and winnigest combination in F1 history. Every race Schumey won or climbed to the podium has been strategized by Ross. Did Schumey blindly trust Brawn on strategy or did he have a say ?
If Schumey was in Alonso’s place in this race or any race and asked to stop at such a short distance initially would he not ask innocently what is the plan and how it is going to span out in the race and what position are they expecting though the strategy in the end ?
But I also heard stories that Ross would radio schumey during the race saying we need take out 1/10 of a sec for next 10 laps and schumey would just do it ? Now was it just blind trust.
Very interesting scenarios. I believe comparing one driver to another would not give any conclusive answer. It is all about each drivers comfort with the race director or engineer.
Maybe somebody should put the same question to Schumey and Brawn and see how they answer this.
mp4-19b
25th September 2009, 6:42
Mr X makes Mr. Schumacher look humane. At least Mr Schumacher was man enough to accept that he cheated several times to gain unfair advantage over others . But Mr X, the Spainsh troll goes to R. Dennis with some self-manipulated documents & blackmails him to make Mr X the number one driver. Mr X couldn’t even take on a rookie. He got beaten fair & square in 07. I dunno how people rate him over Kimi & Lewis. Mr X got lucky in 05 & 06. Those years should have belonged to Kimi but for his reliability problems. To sum up Mr X:-
He is a cheat
Baz
25th September 2009, 8:23
So you don’t like Alonso then? ;-)
Parkp
25th September 2009, 11:43
Please stop ranting – it’s undignified, not to mention ignorant.
S Hughes
25th September 2009, 12:39
Lewis held his hands up, apologised profusely and lost his points in Australia. Alonso is being shifty, arrogantly refuses to answer questions, is clearly lying about his knowledge of strategy calls, and hasn’t condemned in any way what happened in crashgate.
What a HUGE difference between the two. Lewis was justifiably 3rd in Australia, and he was wrongly advised and made an error and he apologised. It would have been unlikely that Alonso would have been in the points in Singapore without crashgate. So he and his team profited, and he hasn’t come out to say he feels he doesn’t deserve the win. The man has no honour or integrity, no matter how you want to spin it. Lewis is infinitely superior in that respect.
Tim
25th September 2009, 15:49
But Lewis only held his hands up and apologised after he’d twice lied to the stewards and it had been proven that he’d given a different version of events in a television interview. There was clear and incontestable evidence that Hamilton had lied to the stewards.
At the time of writing, however, there is no evidence that Alonso lied about his lack of knowledge of “Crashgate”. Quite the contrary, in fact. Despite the Renault press officer saying that Alonso would only talk about 2009 he still responded to all but two of Noble’s questions. Of the two he didn’t answer, one concerned the identity of Witness X (an obvious no go area for any member of the Renault team, not just Alonso) and the other was an obvious trap designed to elicit the answer that the FIA had pursued a witchhunt against Briatore.
There is a difference between the two but I’m afraid that, at present, it’s that Hamilton lied and was caught out whereas your intense dislike of Alonso is somehow supposed to prove that he must be lying about his involvement.
AP
25th September 2009, 6:54
pull your head in, as a the current world champion I would have expected more from my team than to play favorites to a rookie, at the expense of my title defense.
Alonso went to a new team for his own benefit to retain the f1 crown. The team wanted him there to help the team, so there is no harm is stating each has own personal interests as a priority.
To say he “inhibit his teammate’s opportunities” is load of absolute inaccurate unjust load of tripe.
To continue your rant and defame and liable the man is rather uncouth.
If some prat of a report wants to harras and probe to hopefuly make him say something that he can then go and use against him, I would have been less than talkative myself.
Some of you here; are a disgrace….
Tim
25th September 2009, 9:58
But Alonso does distance himself from “Crashgate” in the Noble interview – he says he had never suspected Piquet’s crash was intentional and that he had no knowledge of the whole affair, as per the WMSC verdict. If Alonso is being truthful (and so far there is no evidence to suggest that he hasn’t) what more is there to say other than repeat that he had no knowledge and express a desire to move on?
Granted, he hasn’t apologised for “Crashgate”, renounced his Singapore win or gone down on his knees to beg for forgiveness – but if he did you’d either complain that it was a wholly cynical gesture or claim it as proof of his complicity.
Parkp
25th September 2009, 16:03
Thank you Tim, at least I am not alone in having a sensible opinion..
S Hughes
25th September 2009, 1:01
Also very disappointed with Ecclestone (mind you what more should I expect from him). He is apparently saying that Briatore should appeal his verdict and not get a lifetime ban from F1. Amazing that the guy who runs the show should be happy to have a team boss in the paddock who sanctioned such a dangerous and immoral episode of cheating.
Martin
25th September 2009, 1:53
Well then they could just give a 5 yr ban like symonds and then the old fart wont care enough to come back.
Gman
25th September 2009, 4:21
Did morals, or common sense, ever matter to Bernie? You know the answer as well as I do…..
Baz
25th September 2009, 8:28
I wonder if their business interests at QPR has anything to do with this?
Tommyb
25th September 2009, 1:07
With no sponsors to worry about they could have atleast done a good livery now
sato113
25th September 2009, 1:32
if alonso is innocent, then I guess he is pretty pi*sed off at the moment. hence the hiding from the media.
r
25th September 2009, 9:27
you are quite right!
Prisoner Monkeys
25th September 2009, 1:39
While they’ll suffer the ignomity of the sponsors withdrawing, I don’t think it will hurt Renault too much. Their only update between now and the end of the year is going to be introduced in Singapore, and all of the money from both ING and Mutua will have been paid by now. And ING was already withdrawing at the end of this season, anyway. It’ll be embarrassing, but it won’t hurt their chances.
William Wilgus
25th September 2009, 1:44
I imagine that if the sponsors have paid all of the money for the season, they’ll be entitled to a refund. I suspect, however, that the sponsors were on a `pay as you go’ basis.
Prisoner Monkeys
25th September 2009, 4:58
I doubt they’d get a refund, because Renault essentially wouldn’t be able to sped the money lest ING ask for it back.
manatcna
25th September 2009, 2:29
I think it’s a distinct possibility that there will be no Renault team on the grid in 2011 – maybe even sooner.
Gman
25th September 2009, 4:23
Agreed. I would imagine that Alonso will still say everything is running normal though, if he even says anything at all.
Leaf
25th September 2009, 2:36
No problem, Flav will pick up the bill.
MacademiaNut
25th September 2009, 3:10
I would hope Bridgestone would give them a set of tires (without their names on them) and ask their name to be removed from the car as well. Same goes for TOTAL.
I would prefer Bridgestone refusing to give them tires, but that’s against the contract, so the above would make sense.
mp4-19b
25th September 2009, 3:57
Just wondering why TOTAL didn’t pull the plug??
Martin
25th September 2009, 5:18
ToTal is french..and the french stick together.. Not necessarily a bad thing except right now. If I was renault, I would become a engine provider and sell the team and get out of f1 and regroup for a couple of years down the road. Without flavio.
GeeMac
25th September 2009, 6:53
I’m wondering why Total sponsor Renault at all? Elf have always been Renault’s partners and they still have Elf logo’s on the car…
KNF
25th September 2009, 8:01
The pre-2003 name was TotalFinaElf, basically two French and a Belgian oil company under the same umbrella. Elf is probably one of the brands in the Total group, much like Mobil 1 being under Exxon-Mobil…
ajokay
25th September 2009, 9:28
Yup, Total and Elf are the same company.
Ned Flanders
25th September 2009, 4:04
The way I see it, all publicity is good publicity! I’m more likely to use ING’s services if I see there name and logo on the side of Alonso’s car, even if he’s (possibly) a bit of a cheat…
Florida Mike
25th September 2009, 4:11
Maybe Renault will use the space to promote its Samsung Motors division, which I believe has a eye on increasing its Asian market share with new models based on Renault platforms. What better advertising could SMI hope for, and I’ll bet the price would be right.
Tiomkin
25th September 2009, 10:19
No, the new sponsor will be TEFLON, nothing sticks.
Gman
25th September 2009, 4:25
A bit of a suprise, and it just gose to show how damaging the scandal is becoming. Inded, ING was uling out at year’s end anyway- and out of F1 completely, not just Renault. But it still dosen’t look good for the carmaker when sponsors just drop off…you gotta wonder how they plan to attract a new title sponsor under such circumstances?
dj
25th September 2009, 4:39
But NO more ING pitbabes ?noooooooo…..LOL
Gman
25th September 2009, 5:02
That dose indeed suck…hopefully someone else will pick up the tab:)
GeeMac
25th September 2009, 6:56
Jordan used to provide a high quality pit girl back in the mid 90’s… maybe Eddie has a few in the commentary box with him.
ajokay
25th September 2009, 9:28
The ING pitbabes wear too many clothes anyway…
KNF
25th September 2009, 4:55
I’m seriously losing respect for “Teflonso”… the man who said that MSC was the least sporting driver in history… looks like Schumi has a contender for that position as well… :(
di Montezemolo and Felipe should take note just in case…
Gman
25th September 2009, 5:03
Oh, and one other thing….whoever said to bring back that classic blue/yellow Renault paint scheme that ran as a throwback in 2007..YES, that’s what we need on the grid!!!
TMAX
25th September 2009, 5:51
Very very Bad of ING and Mutua. Afterall they we together this long and they are anyway going to pull out this year end. They act like Morale Gods whereas it is because of their pressure to show a win that Flav and pat had to take this extreme step. Now they want to show how rude they are.
Hurting somebody when they are down. This is worst way to do it. These guys are acting as if nothing wrong ever happened on their side.
Again McLaren went through similar problems or rather worse in 2007 still Vodafone and everybody supported them now that is true sportmanship and spirit.
This is pure Cowardice.
Parkp
25th September 2009, 6:01
i completely agree with you.
Alex Bkk
25th September 2009, 6:29
Hmmmm…bankers and insurance agents taking on a high moral air?
Laughable!
Patrickl
25th September 2009, 6:34
Alonso still thinks nothing was wrong. In fact he claims his 2008 win in Singapore was just as worthy as any other.
He feels that he still risked his life and had to be fastest over the total 60 laps. An incident in lap 12 or 13 doesn’t decide a race. *rolls eyes*
I once held Alonso in the greatest esteem, but he gows down yet another peg.
Here is a bit of interview from AS “babel fished” to english:
http://www.as.com/motor/articulo/formula-automovilismo-deportes/dasmotfm1/20090925dasdaimot_1/Tes
mp4-19b
25th September 2009, 6:47
LOL!! First “Nocturnal’ race! Is he a owl or something?
GeeMac
25th September 2009, 7:03
God bless babelfish!
Sorry Fernando, but an incident on lap 12 or 13 does decide a race when you move up from 15th place to first. You may have “Gambing the life like in any other circuit” but this win will be tainted forever, regardless of whether you knew about Flav, Symonds and NPJ’s plan.
mp4-19b
25th September 2009, 7:03
My Spanish is bad, but I’ll try to improve google’s interpretation of what Mr X said:
he say’s he rates this victory as any other!!
What a bunch load of rubbish!! Mr X is a real spanish troll.
Omg Schumacher is a saint compared to this guy. Absolutely no moral values.
me
25th September 2009, 7:50
:O Since when did we get this. This proves X was alonso then. Did I miss that lol!
Arun.India
25th September 2009, 7:56
He treats it the same as others because he cheated in other race wins also.
Parkp
25th September 2009, 11:46
FYI MP4-19 – Mr X was most likely Alan Premayne.
Do you have nothing else going on, to take a step back and actually look at what you’re saying?
Or do you want F1 to be full of identikit drivers of about one 10th of Alonso’s ability?
(probably, judging my your immature and quite frankly ignorant remarks).
Carl27
25th September 2009, 15:49
yes is pretty bad actually
Carl27
25th September 2009, 15:54
What is suppose to be funny the “troll” bit or the “spanish” bit? How long have you been following F1… I think possibly since 2007.
james monk
25th September 2009, 7:09
Thank you sooooooo much ING. You leaving has shown how appalling the actions of FB and PS were. The FIA are shown to be exactly what they are. A bunch or spinless, money orientated jokes. Good riddance Mosely
monaco73
25th September 2009, 7:28
It’s completely understandable for the two top sponsors to withdraw. Renault must have been expecting that.
However, Alonso’s “everything is completely normal” interview was very strange indeed. Not a hint of remorse or mention of the damage to F1’s reputation. And to suggest everything is completely normal within the team is just plain bonkers!
He’s trying to stay on message and do what his PR has briefed him to do. But as a two-times world champion, a known critic of the FIA, and a man with an intense passion for formula one…I’m afraid he sounds like a dumb-ass corporate drone here. Some reflection, acknowledgement and motivational words for the F1 crew there in Singapore (who must be seriously p****ed off) would have helped the team and make him come across more like a triple world champion in waiting.
ivz
25th September 2009, 7:45
I think I am getting sick of reading about articles and comments from people that are nothing but negative. All talk the last few years in F1 is scandal, negative bull. The good old days will never return. $$$ in sport has detroyed the very thing that sport is all about!!!
steph90
25th September 2009, 7:55
I can sort of see what Fernando’s saying-he didn’t do anything wrong he just raced like he should. Alonso’s damned no matter what he does at the moment. If he focuses on what happened people will question him more and if he tries to put it behind him then he endorses cheating or is at least morally bankrupt in many eyes. Although Renault should have been stripped of the win as it was gained from cheating.
Renault can make a decent livery now, but more than that I hope they can get some sponsos. The team shouldn’t have to leave the sport because of 3 men who were obsessed by winning and furthering their careers.
Ronman
25th September 2009, 8:04
The more F1 drivers are questioned on the issue, the less I respect them….
Can one of them give a straight forward opinion on the matter???? they all are taking the safe side thinking, i might race for Renault one day, i shouldn’t trash them now, after all it was Flavio…. or is it actually more sinister,
maybe perhaps, drivers are not commenting or in deed condemning for the unfathomable fact that some or most of them have participated in someway at cheating and race fixing???? and wouldn’t want someone calling them damn hypocrites, and blowing this rotten apple we call a F1 wide open…
IDR
25th September 2009, 9:03
Maybe they are just clever enough to understand why they have to mantain his mouth closed in front of F1 press.
mp4-19b
25th September 2009, 9:20
What do you make of Mr X IDR?
Praveen Titus
25th September 2009, 9:14
Praveen Titus
25th September 2009, 9:16
I’m with you Keith. I had great admiration for Alonso too, but after I read Autosport’s interview of Alonso and the irresponsible way he dodged questions, I, an arcent fan of Alonso, am beginning to dislike him. But avoiding questions may be more of a policy of the Renualt team or Alonso himself. He used to dodge questions whenevr journos asked him about KERS-related issues at the beginning of the season.
jk
25th September 2009, 12:14
Why wouldn’t he dodge questions? English is not his first language, if he says the wrong thing he’s only going to set himself up for trouble. And going by past experience he probably reckons he’s going to get a raw deal anyway.
Alonso is never as slick as Hamilton in speaking to the English press, and in any case from the look of things, he’s never to go get a fair hearing anyway. Hatred for him is so deepset — judging just by comments from this blog — that he is going to be condemned regardless of what he says or does.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th September 2009, 17:26
There’s nothing at all unfair about the line of questioning in the interview:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78824
And your remarks about “hatred” are miles wide of the mark. I was totally behind Alonso on the Monza penalty three years ago, and a lot of commenters on the site have said similar things. He’s let himself down badly in how he’s handled this.
r
25th September 2009, 9:31
Alonso is still in Renault and Flavio is his friend. I understand that he doesn’t want to answer, because he cannot speak his mind openly. Maybe in some years we will know his true opinion on all that.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th September 2009, 17:27
Fair point but the same was said about his time at McLaren and in two years he still hasn’t explained much of what went on there.
Parkp
25th September 2009, 19:55
Why should he – keith, maybe you should start writing for the Daily Mail..
You claim to be a serious F1 enthusiast, but the only person I am losing respect for out of this whole affair is unfortunately you..
Carl 27
25th September 2009, 21:02
I feel the same, it’s a pitty because is a brilliant site.
PJA
25th September 2009, 9:44
The sponsors were due to leave at the year anyway so they still would have had to look for more sponsors next season, the question is how has race fixing affected that.
It will be relatively easy to take the logos off the cars and as has already been mentioned hopefully Renault will take the opportunity to change their livery to something decent after Singapore. However when you think they will have to take the ING logos off everything such as team clothing I wonder if they will manage that by the weekend?
gabal
25th September 2009, 9:45
First pictures of ”ING-less” livery from Joe Saward’s blog.
mm
25th September 2009, 11:02
Its not more likely Ferrari will buy Renault(and strategists) than Alonso after the recent verdict…
hoho
Oliver
25th September 2009, 13:37
Why should Alonso show remorse, he wasn’t the one who orchestrated the whole thing. It is not his responsibility to feel guilty. But something else you have to take into consideration, Alonso is leaving the team end of the season, he can’t now start bad mouthing everything that goes on within the team. Almost every driver interviewed about the fiasco chose not to comment, why should Alonso be any different.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th September 2009, 17:28
Because he’s the one who benefitted from his team mate being ordered to crash.
IDR
25th September 2009, 18:20
And that makes him guilty?
Oliver
25th September 2009, 21:49
Well he drove his race with all the innocence of a white dove. :-
In reality, Alonso can’t afford to do anything that would further cause Renault embarrassment. Its not his responsibility to renounce the win, it is the responsibility of the FIA to take it away from him.
Who knows if the FIA will sanction him for renouncing the win.
Joshy
25th September 2009, 16:39
¡Ay por favor! Can we please leave Alonso out of this. If he had something to do with this, then oh well lets go on with racing, if he did do it, then shame on him and still lets get on with racing. Senna and Prost crashed into each other back in the day, and no one said anything, no one hated Senna for crashing into Alain, no one hated Alain for crashing into Ayrton, and yet everyone hates Fernando for not crashing. I don’t mean any disrespect for anyone in here.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th September 2009, 17:30
Eh? There was and still is tons of bile thrown at both men from fans for their crashes into each other.
Joshy
25th September 2009, 17:36
Well you know what I mean, in respect that people today regard them as greats and over look the fact that they did that back in the day. Is what I really meant.
Martin
26th September 2009, 2:43
I lost respect for both drivers for their antics to win the wdc. Senna is now gone and prost is relegated to an uminmportant level so they are no longer a subject of recenmt conversation.
When I mention them it is to put reference to the days we are in noww and how it relates.
Both were great drivers, neither liked each other although I understand that prost tried to become friends with senna and was shut out.
The reality is that they actually started the current form of winning at all cost. The fia should have banned all their results for their action in the year they crashed each other out and that would have sent a clear message to the younger drivers that this form of competition is not acceptable.
Maybe if they had we wouldnt be talking about a team principle, the cheif engineer and a child throwing a race.
Parkp
26th September 2009, 5:54
Alright, alright….