The French formula one outfit Renault F1 team is currently talking to an Indian sponsor. The current title sponsor ING is expected to pull out by the end of this season. ING is a financial institution and with the current situation, financial institutions are best kept out of sponsorship deals

“Currently, talks are on with a major Indian multinational for sponsorship,” a senior official of Renault India was quoted as saying

So i wonder who this Indian multinational is.

I have a few guesses :

TATA : TCS is currently sponsoring the Ferrari formula one team, so it seems highly unlikely that they will make another high value sponsorship venture into formula one.

Reliance : One of India’s largest companies, Reliance can be looking to expand via this F1 sponsorship method. Which Reliance : Mukesh Amabani’s or Anil Ambani’s is yet to be seen.

JK Tyre/ MRF Tyres : Don’t know how strong they are financially, but are major sponsors in FIA rallies.

One of the Oil Majors : Indian Oil majors include Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and IBP. But as these are PSUs, they are unlikely to be the companies mentioned.

Infosys : One of India’s best run companies, Infosys is a technology major. It may very well be the company mentioned here.

The company might be one of the above ones or might be a new one altogether. The only way to find out is to wait and watch.

Also on the cards is a road show by Renault in India. The last one was done at Rajpath , but Renault has revealed that they would be looking at a new location.

P.P.S.  Renault are looking forward to retain Fernando Alonso.

Image Credit : Martin Pettitt from Bury St Edmunds, UK under CCSA 2.0