The Renault F1 effort has suffered a pair of sponsor withdrawals on the back of their damning humiliation over the Fixgate affair, including the early loss of their title sponsor ING, four races before they originally planned to leave the team.
The investment company ING, which has sponsored the team since 2007, had planned to withdraw from the sport at the end of the season regardless, but the negative publicity generated by the finding that the French team had fixed the result of last season's Singapore Grand Prix has led them to cancel their association with the team with immediate effect.
They are thought to have told Renault of their decision in the early hours of Friday morning over in Singapore.
A statement from the group confirmed the immediate withdrawal of sponsorship on the back of the revelations of Fixgate.
"ING announced today that 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."
The statement added that: "ING is deeply disappointed at this turn of events, especially in the context of an otherwise successful sponsorship. As announced on 16 February of this year, ING decided not to renew the three year sponsorship (2007-2009) contract with Renault F1 and to end its presence in Formula 1 after the 2009 season."
The withdrawal means that the ING logos that currently dominate the garish Renault cars will have to be removed immediately, though a spokesperson for the company said that existing trackside sponsorship commitments would be honoured through to the end of the season.
This big withdrawal followed the earlier announcement by oddly-named Spanish insurance company Mutua Madrilena that they had requested to end their own sponsorship deal with Renault, again with immediate effect.
A statement from them said that their contract stated: "Renault must comply with all the FIA rules and regulations at all times as a competitor in the world championship."
Given their "substantial breach" of the regulations, they chose to end their association with the team.
Mutua Madrilena, had renewed their deal with the team when Fernando Alonso rejoined at the start of 2008, but the statement said that they did not wish to continue sponsoring a team that had caused a crash "in a deliberate manner."
The statement added that: "The behaviour of relevant people in the team was of extraordinary seriousness and it compromised not only the integrity of the sport, but also put in danger the lives of spectators, drivers and circuit personnel, which is something that can affect the image, reputation and good name of the team's sponsors."
They did, though, say they would continue with a sponsorship campaign of Alonso himself.
These losses of key sponsorship revenues will doubtless renew questions about Renault's future in the sport, despite the team insisting earlier this week that they were committed to F1 in the long term.
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