Corporations hit brakes on F1 spending

       Corporate invitations to this weekend's Formula One race in Singapore have slowed with recession.
       Last year, tickets for hospitality suites and grandstand seats were distributed freely by many corporate sponsors. Fuelling the generosity was the hype surrounding the city's inaugural Grand Prix as well as the novelty of a night race.
       This year, financial turmoil seems to evaporated that generosity. The motorrelated companies and banks that had F1 programmes in 2008 have scaled back or completely halted such activities.
       Daimler, for example, is one of those scaling back its participation this year.
       The German manufacturer, which makes Mercedes-Benz cars and also supplies engines to the McLaren, Brawn and Force India teams, invited 70 guests to the Paddock Club in 2008. This year,the number is nearer 30 and only business associates are on the list, while last year VIP customers were also invited.
       The Paddock Club is situated in the Pit Building and is the most expensive hospitality suite available. Entry costs S$8,000 per person this year.
       Daimler is also handing out fewer grandstand tickets, from about 500 in 2008 to only 120 in 2009. And while a third of last year's guests came from overseas, none have come this year.
       It is the same story at Shell. The petroleum giant is the fuels partner of the Ferrari team and while Paddock Club invitations were sent out for the first Singapore Grand Prix, only tickets to Pit Straight Sky Suites are available this year.
       The number of people invited is also understood to have plunged and the guests are restricted to a few Shell customers and business partners.
       Among financial institutions, OCBC had booked a Paddock Club suite for about a hundred people last year but is not taking part in F1 this year.
       Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is also much quieter. RBS is a big sponsor of the Williams F1 team and last year brought its global ambassador and former F1 champ Jackie Stewart for interviews.
       But since the onset of financial crisis and after billions of pounds in losses,the bank has announced it will not be renewing the F1 sponsorship deal when it expires at the end of the 2010 season.
       Some banks still entertaining corporate guests are restricting invites to their most important clients.
       Just one bank seems to have bucked the trend. DBS, which wasn't involved in F1 last year, will be this year.
       Race promoter Singapore GP (SGP)said almost 20 financial institutions would entertain clients at the race, about the same number as last year.
       "Some banks did decrease their orders while a number significantly increased the numbers booked in 2008," said an SGP spokesman. He added that current corporate hospitality sales "are meeting our expectations for Year 2".
       But it appears that those invited have generally accepted the "downgrade".
       "The economic environment has not been good, so everyone is looking at cost control," said an executive of one large company."But we still want to maintain relationships so we are still doing something and although it is not at the same level as before, our partners understand the situation."
       Overall, SGP called the figures both for general ticketing and corporate hospitality "extremely good compared with other circuits, for this season".
       The spokesman said:"Within the context of the current economic situation,SGP's achievement is nothing short of sterling."BUSINESS TIMES
       The Marina Bay Circuit is seen from a room of Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore at dusk.The Formula One Singapore Grand Prix is scheduled to run on the street course tomorrow night.