First, there was a Formula One driver in a convertible cruising past the Esplanade. Soon there could be a real F1 car hurtling down that same route.

A street demo of a Formula One car could be organised by financial services giant ING for its high-end clients here next year if the Renault F1 team and the local authorities give the green light.

Isabelle Conner, managing director of ING Renault's F1 programme, says it's a possibility if Renault has an opening in its 2008 calendar and the Singapore authorities are willing to close some streets for such an event.

ING became the title sponsor of the Renault F1 team this year in the biggest non-tobacco sponsorship deal in F1 history.

But while ING may partner Renault in such an event next year, at least one other car maker is said to be keen to do a street demo this year.

This is according to Anand Vathiyar, organiser of this week's MotorsportsAsia: The Grand Prix for Marketeers, a forum highlighting business opportunities arising from hosting a motorsports event here.

'While organising the forum we met another client who is very keen to do something like this and we may not have to wait next year,' Mr Anand says. He declines to give more details, but it is understood the client is among the top five F1 teams.

'If it does happen, one possible scenario is an F1 car racing down Esplanade Drive before turning right towards Anderson Bridge while the VIP guests watch from the Fullerton Waterboat House, sipping their champagne and nibbling on canapes,' says Mr Anand.

'Several private and public sector groups are already lined up to broadcast the event and promote it internationally if it gets the go-ahead.'

Such street demos have been organised regularly in other countries. ING, for instance, will hold a Warsaw City Event with Renault in June.

During the day-long programme, F1 drivers will race for an hour before visiting a children's hospital and performing other charity-related work before lunching with the country's top CEOs.

'Renault is very flexible and open to such events,' says Ms Conner, adding that this is one of the reasons Dutch-based ING picked the French team among the top three F1 teams when it decided late last year to become a sponsor.

'Culturally, it is a good fit because we are both very approachable brands concerned with value for money,' she says.

Ms Conner spoke about 'The Road to F1 Sponsorship' at the two-day MotorsportsAsia forum. ING offers insurance, banking and asset management services in 50 countries but still has an issue with brand awareness, she said.

To increase this in its target markets of Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, the company homed in on F1 from a list of sports.

'F1 is one of these turnkey sponsorships,' she says. 'You sign one contract and you get access to 17 Grand Prix races around the world. So right away you get access to a platform and 850 million fans.'

She won't say how much the sponsorship is costing ING annually, but the first year of its three-year deal is likely to be more than US$80 million, because apart from the title sponsorship there are also on-track branding and other publicity costs.

But the amount should be worth it because research shows F1 fans are interested in financial services, according to Ms Conner.

'F1 fans are a very good representation of the population and they are slightly more interested in managing their assets.'