Montezemolo urges us not to dramatize the departure of the main sponsors from Formula 1

Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is trying to keep the various Formula One teams calm after receiving news that many major sponsors will be abandoning motor sport. The ING group, a well-known Dutch bank, will leave the Renault team at the end of 2009, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), sponsor of Williams, seems to want to imitate its financier colleagues. Already in the past we had witnessed the surrender of banking institutions such as Credit Suisse, on behalf of BMW-Sauber, not to mention houses such as Petrobras and Baugur which have long since withdrawn their business from the world of the highest formula.

Montezemolo, as president of FOTA, reminds us that we must all overcome the times of crisis together, but at the same time he is sure that despite large brands abandoning Formula One, other sponsors will come forward, driven by a reduction in costs thanks to the collaboration between the team.

Sebastiano Cuce'