Motor Racing: Renault mulls quitting sport

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channelnewsasia.com - Motor Racing Renault mulls quitting sport

Motor Racing: Renault mulls quitting sport
Posted: 05 November 2009 0956 hrs


LONDON - Renault have held an emergency board meeting in Paris to discuss pulling out of Formula One, on the same day as Toyota announced it was also quitting the sport, reports said Thursday.

The French car company was considering whether to remain in Formula One, switch to become an engine supplier only to teams, or exit the sport altogether, the BBC reported.

The outcome of Wednesday's meeting, attended by Formula One team bosses Bob Bell and Jean-Francois Caubet, was not immediately clear, the Guardian said.

Renault has been dogged in recent months by a race-fix scandal in which they decided not to contest charges that Nelson Piquet was ordered to deliberately crash in Singapore last year to help teammate Fernando Alonso to victory.

Renault's former team boss was banned from the sport indefinitely and its chief engineer was suspended for five years.

Renault finished a dismal eighth out of 10 in the constructors' championship after the final race of the season on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

The meeting came as Formula One was left reeling by Toyota's decision to quit in response to the economic crisis, just days after tyre manufacturer Bridgestone also pulled out.

Toyota said its decision to leave after this season reflected "the current severe economic realities."

Honda have already withdrawn, while Germany's BMW have announced they were leaving at the end of the season to cope with the credit crunch.

While F1 attracts millions of viewers, the amount of money it costs to run a team -- estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars a year -- means it has become an unaffordable luxury for some manufacturers. - AFP/vm

[Rmac58]

RK gets to look for another ride.

[Teutone]

UPDATE 1-Renault to decide Formula 1 future by end of year | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Renault to decide Formula 1 future by end of year
Thu Nov 5, 2009 10:06am EST

PARIS, Nov 5 (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault will decide by the end of the year whether to stay in Formula One after a race-fixing scandal that has badly damaged the team's reputation.

"You will have to be patient," Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told reporters on Thursday."We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula 1before the end of the year."

Renault ended the 2009 season racing under a suspended permanent ban for its involvement in a race-fixing controversy which resulted in its former principal Flavio Briatore being barred for life.

The team won the 2005 and 2006 championships with Fernando Alonso but the Spaniard has now left for rivals Ferrari. Title sponsor ING has also departed, leaving a big hole in the budget.

Renault told F1's governing body in September that it wanted to stay in the sport after the team was found to have ordered driver Nelson Piquet to crash deliberately at last year's Singapore Grand Prix to help Alonso to win the race.

But the high costs and recent negative publicity might persuade the firm to join the growing exodus from the sport.

Toyota announced on Wednesday that it was quitting F1, less than a year after Japanese rivals Honda pulled out and only days since BMW said farewell in the season-ending Abu Dhabi race.

Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone has also said it will leave at the end of 2010.

Toyota's pullout meant Renault was one of only three manufacturers left in F1, alongside Ferrari and Mercedes.

Renault have signed Poland's Robert Kubica as one of their 2010 drivers but paddock gossip even before last weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix suggested the manufacturer was considering selling all or part of the team.

The carmaker also supplies engines to Red Bull, runners-up to Brawn GP and winners of six races this year.

(Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by John Mehaffey; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

© Thomson Reuters 2009.

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Renault set to race on amid exit fears

05/11/09 09:23

F1-Live.com

Renault to race on in 2010
Shooting down speculation to the contrary, Renault's F1 managing director Jean-Francois Caubet insists a working budget for 2010 has been approved and the team will race in Formula One next year.

Following the announcement of Toyota's departure on Wednesday, the Renault board met in Paris, triggering reports that the French carmaker could be the next to quit F1.

But Caubet told the sports daily L'Equipe: "We have already contracted our drivers, had our budget approved and are enrolled in the world championship. Season 2010 has begun already."

He said Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has also laid out his expectations for Renault's 2010 season: that the team "returns to a good level."

"We will not be World Champions in 2010, but we do have hopes to be much improved," Caubet said.


AFP later reported that Ghosn, who was attending a public event today, promised that Renault's F1 plans would be made clear within the next two months.

"I can guarantee that before the end of the year we will make an announcement, and we will announce our strategy in regards to Renault's participation in Formula One," he said.

D.B. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM