ING Renault F1 Team launches 2007 R27 Car

The ING Renault Formula 1 Team have officially launched the ING-branded R27 2007 F1 car to over 600 journalists from the international media in Amsterdam.

ING CEO Michel Tilmant, ING Renault F1 Team President Alain Dassas and Managing Director Flavio Briatore unveiled the car together with drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen, as the ING Renault F1 Team begins its 2007 season challenge.

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Following ING's announcement of the three-year sponsorship with the Renault F1 Team in November, the team is now referred to as the 'ING Renault F1 Team' with immediate effect.

Through the title sponsorship, ING will further build its global brand awareness as one of the leading global financial institutions providing Banking, Insurance and Asset Management services to over 60 million customers in 50 countries across the world. With a global audience of over 850 million, across a broad demographic and with ING active in 15 of the 17 countries hosting Grands Prix, F1 offers an unrivalled opportunity to bolster ING's global brand. ING will also support the ING Renault F1 Team title sponsorship with a targeted advertising and marketing campaign.

2007 sees the debut of Heikki Kovalainen, widely regarded as one of the upcoming F1 talents, together with Giancarlo Fisichella, in his third year with the team. Giancarlo and Heikki will form a highly competitive team combining upcoming talent and proven race ability. They will be supported by test-drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. and Ricardo Zonta.

Michel Tilmant, Chairman of the Executive board of ING Group, said: "Our Formula 1 programme is a global sponsorship initiative which will help us to enhance the awareness of one unified ING brand worldwide," explained Mr. Tilmant. "Formula 1 is currently the best platform for a global sponsorship programme, as it has the potential to reach a broad customer base. We chose Renault for its track record as a high-performing team. We are convinced that teaming up with the Renault F1 Team fosters our objectives of encouraging teamwork, instilling a performance culture and permanent progress. I am confident that the ING Renault F1 Team will remain highly competitive in the coming years. I wish the team a lot of success in the coming season."

ING Renault F1 Team Managing Director Flavio Briatore said: "This is no year of transition for the ING Renault F1 Team. We have always said that the team is what matters, and that success comes from the team spirit that unites us. 2007 is a fantastic opportunity to prove exactly that. There are some big changes for this season, not just at Renault but throughout the grid. We believe in our choices, and we are confident that they will help us achieve more success in 2007. It will be a year of tough competition at every level. Those are the conditions that allow the best teams to shine. And that is exactly what we intend to do."