Qantas Becomes Title Sponsor of the Australian Grand Prix

With Dutch banking group ING leaving the world of Formula One at the end of last season, not only the Renault F1 Team had to suffer from it and look for a replacement in terms of title sponsorship, but also some of the Grands Prix that are part of the 2010 championship.

One of those events was the formerly season opening Australian Grand Prix, held in Melbourne's Albert Park. Counting for this year's 2nd round of the F1 series, the Aussie race had terminated their deal with ING at the end of last season and was on the lookout for a replacement for a few months now.

According to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, airline company Qantas will become title sponsor for the Australian Grand Prix for the 2010 season, with its future involvement in the GP naming-process to be evaluated in the years to come.

“We are pleased to reaffirm our support for this global sporting event, reaching Formula One fans worldwide,” said Alan Joyce, chief executive of Australia's national airline.

This will not be the first time Qantas will be included in the official designation of the Aussie GP, as the airline company has previously been title sponsor of the race between the 1997 and 2001 seasons of Formula One.

Hopefully, Qantas' sponsorship of the event will also reduce the amount of money the Aussie taxpayers will have to pay for the Formula One race, as the last year's grand prix recorded a controversial $40m loss. Most of it was supported by the Victorian government, whose representatives saluted the new deal between Qantas and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

“We greatly value the involvement of all our commercial sponsors – their support reduces the cost of this event to the Victorian government,” said major events minister Tim Holding.