Try being married to an ex-Formula One driver…

http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2008/pl_motor

Wired has posted an excellent article on how race car drivers physically prepare for for a race. You’ll be amazed how important every single muscle is to a racer.

You probably knew that Renault has been responsible for championships in F1 during the last two seasons. But did you know that Renault’s F1 team spends just one-fifth of other F1 teams?

Check out this link: http://news.com.com/2100-11389_3-6169931.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news

Maybe ING saw our posting and saw the benefit of a sponsorship with the Renault Formula 1 team. Maybe they are just making too much money and need to “make an investment.” Either way the Dutch Banking and Insurance giant has signed a 3-year deal with team Renault for some prime ad space, and name sponsorship, on the next series of cars.

It is quite clear that Formula One reaches far more people than NASCAR in the US or GT racing in Europe. Despite running 2007 sans Fernando Alonso (two-time F1 champion), Renault has a full-sponsorship. ING CEO Michel Tilmant is right to think that F1 is an opportunity to build the ING brand globally in a quick way. The Shell-Ferrari relationship is a similar example.

Lessons in brand management that when you spend marketing dollars, they should be spent to gain positive exposure for the brand. The idea is to associate the brand with a winning concept. Renault has certainly proven itself a winner the last two years. It is estimated that the contract was equivalent to 5% of ING’s global marketing budget. We estimate that such a deal is worth over $85 million per annum.

One final note: our earlier analysis stated that sponsorship opportunities would come as a result of big tobacco being forced out of F1 racing in most countries. That foresight has proven correct as ING will replace a number of previous Renault sponsors, including Japanese Tobacco.

For the last billion years, motor sports, and more specifically Formula 1, has been dominated quite solidly by Scuderia Ferrari and its hallowed driver, Michael Schumacher. Last weekend marked the end of Michael Schumacher’s career and the end of Scuderia Ferrari.

That’s not to say that Ferrari won’t be returning to racing next year. Quite the opposite, actually. Felipe Massa will return to Ferrari next year along with a new teammate, Kimi Raikkonen. Both racers have achieved great respect and success of the GP circuit. Ferrari, despite coming in second in the constructor’s championship this year, will be powering more vehicles for next year. Unfortunately for Scuderia Ferrari, much of the technical team that helped Michael Schumacher win dozens of races and six championships is splitting up.

With so many changes, on might ask: will Formula 1 ever be the same? To answer this is to realize which changes will be made. First, no Schumacher in 2007. Fernando Alonso may be the best driver next year, and for all we know, he may eventually become the best of all time, but he is unlikely to have the same pull or marketing appeal to the sport that Schumacher brought.

Second Renault and Ferrari are both suffering from major team changes at the end of this year. Renault stands to lose everything with the change of its champion drive. Ferrari is likely to be diluted by having to produce more engines for more teams, assembling a new management team, and leaving Massa to take over for a top driver.

Third and most importantly, the money that pours into Formula 1 will be changing. New EU rules outlaw the Marlboro type of advertising. These new rules have prompted an exodus from F1 by tobacco companies including British American Tobacco (producer of Lucky Strike cigarettes), once a title partner with the Honda team will exit. Marlboro has promised to stay on with Ferrari, but will be severely limited in advertising for the 2007 season onward. This regulation means that some teams will have a very difficult time finding major sponsors for next year. Formula 1 after all, is not cheap to run. On the upside, Speed TV in the U.S. has succeeded in paying a lot of money to the Formula 1 Administration to broadcast races next year, so no team is likely to be starving.

There was little surprise in today’s final Formula 1 race of the season. There were however many retirements, several car failures and accidents.

The important story of the day was Felipe Massa’s win, the first by a Brazilian since Ayrton Senna in 1993 on the home track. Massa dominated from the beginning and finished with a substantial lead over Fernando Alonso who finished second followed by an impressive third place finish by Jensen Button.

The finish meant that Fernando Alonso won the 2006 F1 Championship and Renault walked away with the Constructor’s Championship. It also meanth that with Schumacher finishing fourth, up from his 10th place start, that Ferrari finished second in the Constructor’s competition.

As for Michael Schumacher, today marked his last F1 race, but also represented an impressive display of driving. Early in the race, Schumacher’s left rear tire was nicked resulting in a very early pit stop, costing him dearly. He rejoined at the back of the pack. Combined with several retirements and what can only be described as amazing driving, Schumacher worked his way from 17th (after the pit stop) to fourth by the end of the race.

It is the end of the 2006 season and the end of Schumacher’s career, but 2007 will hold new challenges for Formula 1 with many changes for many teams and changes to the sport, some of which will affect the business-side of Formula 1.

Check back soon when Beyond the KM discusses implications of changes that F1 will make over the break and how that will affect the sport.

In just a few short hours Michael Schumacher will start (and hopefully complete) his last race as a Formula 1 driver in Brazil, the last F1 race of the season. Schumacher holds many F1 records. Most notably, he holds 7 F1 titles.

Schumacher has also had the opportunity to take his 69th and final career pole, but due to an engine blowout, his hopes were dashed at the start of his final qualifying round.

Interestingly, Schumacher’s teammate at Ferrari, Felipe Massa took the pole despite also having problems. Massa’s problem required the changing of the gearbox, a process that took a mere minutes. In Formula 1 though, exchanging an engine, despite all of the money spent on R&D and technicians/engineers, still takes a long time. Moreover, an engine change means that Schumacher would drop from his previously guaranteed 5th row start to a more harrowing, and difficult 10th row start.

Meanwhile for Schumacher to win the title, he would have to have a flawless race AND Fernando Alonso would have to drop out. With those odds, Ferrari will have to settle for second place in both the individual and constructor’s championships.

Stay tuned for more analysis on the Brazil Grand Prix to follow after the race Sunday.

Update: Schumacher’s Ferrari suffered a fuel pump failure rather than an all out engine failure. This means that he will start 10th as he was unable to make a final round qualifying run.