Red Bull engine crisis: Renault to quit F1?

LONDON, England  - Renault is more likely to quit Formula 1 or purchase a team than remain just an engine supplier but the final decision depends also on the governance of the sport, chief executive Carlos Ghosn said on Sunday (June 28 2015).

The automaker  currently supplies only the two Red Bull-owned teams and its involvement beyond 2016, when the contracts expire, has been the subject of much speculation as the relationship has become stretched to breaking point.

EXISTING CONTRACTS HONOURED

Red Bull, who won four successive drivers' and constructors' titles between 2010 and 2013 with Renault, has publicly blamed the engine for their recent lack of success.

Ghosn told a news conference at the London ePrix, the last round of the new electric Formula E series that Renault is increasingly committed to, that the company would honour existing F1 contracts. The rest was undecided.

Ghosn said: "When you are a developer and seller of engines, you have the privilege to be forgotten when you win and to be highlighted when you lose.

"We are not discarding anything. We can be out. We can, less likely, continue to be only an engine developer. Or we can own a team. So all the options are open. And we are analysing all the different options for the future."

Ghosn said a decision would be made in a matter of months.

DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPIONS

Renault won championships in 2005 and 2006 but quit as a constructor at the end of 2010 after a Singapore GP race-fixing scandal, with the team rebranded as Lotus.

Ghosn said: "It makes sense for us depending on what kind of governance we have in front of us. That's why it's taking some time.

"We need to try and understand where the governance of Formula 1 goes before we decide what way we want to take. The governance of racing is extremely important."

Ghosn said that meant a satisfactory return on their investment rather than who ran or controlled the sport: "It's not about who does what, that's not our issue. Our issue is we come and know exactly how much we spend and invest.

"We know how much we can be sponsored through marketing, but also there is a sharing of the TV rights which needs to be in a certain way following a more rational track where people who are investing the money and making the show can get a fair return on this investment.

"The question is 'Is it worth it?' You are engaging hundreds of engineers, putting in millions of euros and deviating a lot of your technical resources. You need a return."

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