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Renault reported to have secured its F1 future
ESPNF1 Staff
December 11, 2009
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Renault's future in Formula One appears to be secure © Sutton Images
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The Renault team will race on in Formula One next year after a deal was struck to secure its future.
Speculation in recent weeks had been rife that the team was on the verge of being sold outright, and three days ago Bernie Ecclestone hinted there were four potential buyers in the wings. But sources close to Renault have told the BBC that a deal has been agreed which will mean it will be sold with the company maintaining a minority holding. Those same sources indicate the Renault name will remain.
Last month Renault held an emergency board meeting where the sale of the Formula One team was raised. While the bulk of the business will be sold off, the maintenance of even a minority shareholding represents an about turn.
If confirmed, the retention of such an iconic name will be a boost for F1 after the high-profile withdrawals of BMW and Toyota.
The front-runners remain Gerard Lopez's Genii Capital and David Richards, the boss of the British motor racing engineering firm Prodrive and former team principal of Benetton and BAR.
Renault's CEO Carlos Ghosn, who is authorising the sale, has long been sceptical about the company's involvement in Formula One and the team was linked with a withdrawal before the exodus of manufacturers in 2009. On top of this pressure the company also suffered the embarrassment of the race-fixing scandal in September.
It was found guilty of ordering its driver Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash at a time and place that benefited team-mate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the race. The FIA gave Piquet immunity but sanctioned team boss Flavio Briatore with a life-time ban from motorsport and handed technical director Pat Symonds a five-year ban. The team itself only received a two-year suspended ban but the scandal damaged its reputation and it lost major sponsors ING and Mutua Madrilena as a result.
Ironically, the motivation behind the crash was to please Renault's board by scoring a good result during a season that hadn't lived up to expectations. The plan back-fired, and coupled with a poor performance in the 2009 season, it prompted the board's recent decision to look for a buyer.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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