Financial services group ING has stopped sponsoring the Renault Formula 1 team with immediate effect because of the crash-gate scandal

Earlier this week, Renault were handed a ban from the sport, suspended for two years, after being found guilty of fixing the 2008 race.
ING had been planning to stop sponsoring Formula 1 at the end of the season but is now stopping four races early.
to pull out at the end of the season but will now leave four races early.
Major contributor
According to the BBC, ING was the largest sponsor on Renault’s books and according to some estimates provided more than half their total sponsorship revenues. A report by industry monitor Formula Money earlier this year put ING’s contribution to the sport at some $86m last season, with $65m going to Renault, the broadcaster said.
In a statement the Dutch banking group said: ‘ING is deeply disappointed at this turn of events, especially in the context of an otherwise successful sponsorship.’
ING received a €10bn capital injection from the Dutch government last year and has had a controversial €22bn guarantee on its risky US loan portfolio.
World Cup
Meanwhile, Nos tv reports that ING and its insurance arm Nationale Nederlanden are not planning to take important clients to next year’s World Cup football in South Africa.
The market is still too shaky and the trips will be too expensive, Nos quotes ING as saying. Nationale Nederlanden, the main sponsor of the Dutch national team, is in agreement, Nos says.