Renault to announce F1 plans tomorrow (Weds 16 Dec)

[Giuseppe F1]

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/12/renault-to-announce-f1-plans-tomorrow/



"Renault has called a press conference in Paris tomorrow to announce its decision on Formula 1.

It seems that they may announce that the company has decided to sell a 75% shareholding in its Enstone operation to Gerard Lopez, the 37 year old internet entrepreneur who was the first investor in Skype. The deal entails Lopez and his company Gravity, getting the factory for nothing and a guaranteed free supply of engines for two years.

The sponsorship of the French Total oil company is also included. In return the team remains under the Renault name for at least the 2010 season. It is understood that this last point is very important to Bernie Ecclestone, who has had a hand in brokering the deal.

The Renault engine operation in Viry Chatillon in Paris is not part of the deal, it remains 100% Renault owned.".........

[Giuseppe F1]

What the hell have Prodrive gotta do to get into F1, huh?

[Sonic]

Damn, damn, damn it all to hell.

What the hell do pro-drive have to do to get into F1?

[Sonic]

What the hell have Prodrive gotta do to get into F1, huh?

Great minds..... :p

[ioan]

So, now that the financial markets are not as vivid as they used to be the players are investing in F1.

I have a feeling that the naysayers will cry after those 'pesky' manufacturers they were criticizing not so long ago, when these so called privateers backed by all kind of investment fonds will go down.

[Roamy]

Damn, damn, damn it all to hell.

What the hell do pro-drive have to do to get into F1?

write a freaking check Prix Richards always has trouble pulling out the checkbook. He had a chance

[milly]

Prodrive doesn't have the money to do the F1 deal.

David Richards is the chairman of Aston Martin but doesn't own the main shares - they lie with a venture capital fund from Kuwait - which announced problems with its funding a coupel of months ago.

Prodive are waiting on doing the Mini S2000 rally project, and continuing with the Aston Martin Racing project - but they don't have all the money that they would like everyone to believe they have......

[I am evil Homer]

It's official according to the BBC: Genii gets the deal with Renault keeping the engine factory and Genii getting Enstone factory. Seems to me this paves the way for Renault to withdraw as a team in a few years and only supply engines.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8415935.stm

[V12]

Seems to me this paves the way for Renault to withdraw as a team in a few years and only supply engines.

Good for them, generally I'm against wholly owned manufacturer teams but I think they can bring a lot to the sport as engine suppliers. I would have welcomed Honda, BMW and Toyota doing likewise.

[scaliwag]

Well guy's and gal's it gives me no pleasure to say I told you so, however I told you so, outside of Merc, the manufactures are breaking each others neck to rid themselves of F1, they came they wasted billions achieved very little, other than destroying real F1 racing teams, if ever there should be a medal awarded to real racing teams, perhaps the first recipient should be Williams.

scaliwag.

[Saint Devote]

Robert Kubica should flee and run like the wind. The deception that Renault has wrought on the Polish driver and the FIA leads me to confirm my suspicions that they knew about the Singapore affair.

How else to explain their dishonesty when they signed him?

Board decisions are not made in isolation. It is always a process that has been ongoing for some time.

Secondly, to give this team to an individual that knows absolutely NOTHING about running a racing team let alone a formula one team OFFENDS me as decades long motor racing fan.

How can any rational or reasonable argument be offered to give this team - already unlikely to ever win a grand prix again - to "lopez" rather than Mr. David Richards.

This is a despicable situation and Kubica should use the best lawyers to extract him pronto from what I consider a breech of contract due to deception.

It is not too late for Mercedes or even Sauber to reach agreement with Kubica.

With the lopez team, Kubica is furtehr away from his goal in racing now, than he ever was with BMW.

[Saint Devote]

Its a shame its not Prodrive buying in, but in reality its good news for the workforce at Enstone. The employees get to keep their jobs and their future is reletively secure....

Really? I disagree.
The real security would have been ProDrive.

It takes success to secure a team and intelligent employees should seek positions with other teams during the future period.

[Saint Devote]

Prodrive doesn't have the money to do the F1 deal.

David Richards is the chairman of Aston Martin but doesn't own the main shares - they lie with a venture capital fund from Kuwait - which announced problems with its funding a coupel of months ago.

Prodive are waiting on doing the Mini S2000 rally project, and continuing with the Aston Martin Racing project - but they don't have all the money that they would like everyone to believe they have......

Ross Brawn did not have the money either.

With Richard's credibility and good cooperation from teh scoundrels at Renault, there would always be funds available from places such as Abu Dhabi.

Funding is not the problem.

[Mark]

Good for them, generally I'm against wholly owned manufacturer teams but I think they can bring a lot to the sport as engine suppliers. I would have welcomed Honda, BMW and Toyota doing likewise.

Absolutely. The past of F1 is private teams with corporate engine suppliers, and I believe that to be the future too. Which is why I was rather dismayed at Mercedes decision to buy out Brawn as I had hope that Brawn would be a team to stay in F1 for the long term.

In any case most of the manufacturer teams were in fact private teams owned by engine manufacturers, with the possible exception of Toyota, And Ferrari of course.

[milly]

Ross Brawn did not have the money either.

With Richard's credibility and good cooperation from teh scoundrels at Renault, there would always be funds available from places such as Abu Dhabi.

Funding is not the problem.


Believe me, they don't have the money - or access to it in the Middle East. They have tried Abu Dhabi and places like that before - remember the Prodrive McLaren Mercedes plan of three years ago? That's when they ended up with the Kuwait money - that has now hit problems.

[Saint Devote]

Believe me, they don't have the money - or access to it in the Middle East. They have tried Abu Dhabi and places like that before - remember the Prodrive McLaren Mercedes plan of three years ago? That's when they ended up with the Kuwait money - that has now hit problems.

How would you know where they have tried? The Mclaren deal fell through because F1 denied Richards.

Renault have decided for "lopez" for some reason and it is not immediately apparent.

The team has no successful principal such as Briatore or Richards and its success looks anything but bright.

[scaliwag]

Good for them, generally I'm against wholly owned manufacturer teams but I think they can bring a lot to the sport as engine suppliers. I would have welcomed Honda, BMW and Toyota doing likewise.

V12 I've always had that stance, manufacturers should only be allowed to support racing teams(at least two teams) of course manufactures can be named i.e. McLaren Mercedes, Brawn Merc, Torro rosso Ferrari, Red Bull Renault, etc, likewise with tyre manufacturers, my whole point is racing teams should be independent, not a corporate entity.

scaliwag.

[jens]

Interesting that car manufacturers are berated, while teams owned by other kind of companies are taken fondly. Red Bull, Virgin, Genii, Midland, etc all all pretty much the same as car manufacturers - they'll leave, when it's not useful for their businesses to keep racing in F1. Renault selling a stake to Genii won't change the future much - they are going to leave one day as well. And look, what happened to Qadbak, that project didn't even get off the ground. At times it's funny to read, how a car manufacturer is considered "evil", while someone like Red Bull is called a "genuine racing team". How completely untrue.

It's a mystery, who could become Renault's second driver. But it looks like they have run out of decent options by now, so they probably have to be content with an average leftover at best.

[truefan72]

Interesting that car manufacturers are berated, while teams owned by other kind of companies are taken fondly. Red Bull, Virgin, Genii, Midland, etc all all pretty much the same as car manufacturers - they'll leave, when it's not useful for their businesses to keep racing in F1. Renault selling a stake to Genii won't change the future much - they are going to leave one day as well. And look, what happened to Qadbak, that project didn't even get off the ground. At times it's funny to read, how a car manufacturer is considered "evil", while someone like Red Bull is called a "genuine racing team". How completely untrue.

It's a mystery, who could become Renault's second driver. But it looks like they have run out of decent options by now, so they probably have to be content with an average leftover at best.

i hope it is nakajima or klien

Secondly, to give this team to an individual that knows absolutely NOTHING about running a racing team let alone a formula one team OFFENDS me as decades long motor racing fan.

Erm, didn't you recently proclaim that Flavio was good for the sport?.....and he knew feck all about it when he was brought in by Benetton.

[ioan]

Ross Brawn did not have the money either.


But Honda did, and they were very generous to him.

[ioan]

Erm, didn't you recently proclaim that Flavio was good for the sport?.....and he knew feck all about it when he was brought in by Benetton.

:D Spot on!
Another pearl from the self canonized who believes that Flavio is a genius and Button a great F1 driver! ;)

[milly]

How would you know where they have tried? The Mclaren deal fell through because F1 denied Richards.

Renault have decided for "lopez" for some reason and it is not immediately apparent.

The team has no successful principal such as Briatore or Richards and its success looks anything but bright.

fyi:

Kuwait's Investment Dar, part owner of British luxury carmaker Aston Martin, said Monday it reached a preliminary deal with creditors to restructure about 1 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($3.5 billion) of debt over five years.

Dar is the second company in Kuwait to announce a default of debt payments after Global Investment House, Kuwait's largest investment bank, said in January it had defaulted on most of its debt as the global financial crisis hit home.

Islamic investment firm Dar said in May it had defaulted on a $100 million Islamic bond or sukuk, and a nine-member committee representing creditors and banks, including HSBC Holding PLC, was set up to facilitate the restructuring of its debt.

[milly]

fyi:

Kuwait's Investment Dar, part owner of British luxury carmaker Aston Martin, said Monday it reached a preliminary deal with creditors to restructure about 1 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($3.5 billion) of debt over five years.

Dar is the second company in Kuwait to announce a default of debt payments after Global Investment House, Kuwait's largest investment bank, said in January it had defaulted on most of its debt as the global financial crisis hit home.

Islamic investment firm Dar said in May it had defaulted on a $100 million Islamic bond or sukuk, and a nine-member committee representing creditors and banks, including HSBC Holding PLC, was set up to facilitate the restructuring of its debt.

Now Aston Martin Racing to miss 2010.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80632