[BudVlad]

Renault is reported to have staged an emergency meeting in Paris on Wednesday with regards to the future of its Formula One team. Following news of Toyota's departure from the sport already today, it is believed the French company is considering whether to stay put as a works team, engine supplier or leave completely.

[MuchMoore]

Ha, that would be hilarious!

[xbook]

This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.

[MontegoblueE92]

Apparently the higher ups in F1 are trying to get the major car manufacturers' teams out according to Ferrari.

[E90SLAM]

Here's the news from BBC Sport.

Renault have held an emergency board meeting in Paris to discuss pulling out of Formula 1 with immediate effect.

The French car company was considering whether to remain in the sport with its own team, switch to simply being an engine supplier or quit altogether.

The outcome of Wednesday's meeting was not immediately forthcoming.

News of Renault's possible exit comes on the day Toyota said it was quitting F1, becoming the third car company to leave the sport in the last 11 months.

Renault's emergency board meeting was attended by F1 team bosses Bob Bell and Jean-Francois Caubet, although neither man was allowed to take part in the debate about the team's future.

Renault have had their least competitive F1 season since 2002 and finished eighth out of 10 teams in the constructors' championship after Sunday's final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

The company came under scrutiny for the team's involvement in the Singapore 2008 race-fixing scandal, in which they decided not to contest charges that they had asked Nelson Piquet Jr to crash to aid team-mate Fernando Alonso's bid for victory.

Motorsport's governing body the FIA gave Renault a ban from F1, suspended for two years, as punishment, while team bosses Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were forbidden from attending FIA-sanctioned events.

Last month, Renault signed the highly-rated Polish driver Robert Kubica to lead their team in 2010 as a replacement for double world champion Alonso, who has moved to Ferrari.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/moto...ne/8343221.stm

[MadMan77]

Uh oh.... the rats are jumping ship. Everyone else might want to follow suit.

[1BMW4fun]

If Renault leaves, then there would be no reason for Mercedes to stay in it. So only Ferrari left as an engine suppplier and its own manufacture. I have a feeling that McLaren wants to develop their own engine so they will split from Mercedes. Mercedes would then buy a small stake in Brawn so it could develop its F1 race engine and still put its three point star on a car.

[MontegoblueE92]

Originally Posted by 1BMW4fun

If Renault leaves, then there would be no reason for Mercedes to stay in it.

How does Renault leaving have anything to do with Mercedes? They have the most powerful engine on the grid, and their cars have won the WDC two years in a row. Nobody is using Renault engines. Force India, Brawn, and McLaren are using Mercedes engines. Red Bull could possibly be joining that list as well. So they have a good income from that and they own 40% of McLaren.

[JakeN5]

F1 is fcuked. I tried watching their races on the old speed channel a few times, and it is more like a parade of really expensive open wheeled race cars. you'd be lucky to catch a glimpse of overtaking actions twice in a race.

[White1]

I think the main issue is the expense of developing and supporting F1 teams, which doesnt seem to mesh with the current financial problems that the car makers are experiencing due to the global economic downturn. Especially when the overall performance of the teams is not what one would call spectacular. At the same time these car companies are working on becoming greener, and F1, as for any type of racing league tend to consume lots of fuel; in effect being hipocritical.
Unfortunately the technological advances that have come from F1, and found their way into production models will suffer from the pull outs.After all racing tends to make for good automotive research.

[E90SLAM]

As of this moment, Renault has yet to decide if they are going to participate 2010 season. They are weighing pros and cons of staying in the sport. The French manufacture team will have a decision before the end of the year.

I feel bad for Kubica who just signed a contract with the French team, if they pull out. The Polish driver will have to job hunt twice in a month.

Renault have called for patience as the French manufacturer weighs up the pros and cons of following Toyota out of Formula One.

On Wednesday, Toyota announced their immediate withdrawal from Formula One, citing the "current severe economic realities" for their decision.

Hours later another team, Renault, appeared to be facing the same fate as the French carmakers held an extraordinary board meeting to discuss its future plans.

And with the recent Singapore race-fixing scandal fresh in the minds as well as the two-year suspended ban hanging over their heads, many are predicting Renault will be the next team to walk away.

However, Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn has revealed that no decision was made on Wednesday, although one will be forthcoming before the year is out.

"You will have to be patient," Ghosn told Reuters.

"We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula 1 before the end of the year."

Should Renault quit Formula One, they will become the fourth major manufacturer to leave, joining Honda, BMW and Toyota.

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,189...676012,00.html

[daveysew]

The real sad part has all ready been mentioned, all of the significant road car improvements that came from F1 technology. Yes F1 is expensive, no it's not the best for the environment, but neither was the space race, going to the moon, et al. Just because something isn't cheap or environment doesn't mean it isn't valuable. There is a good case to be made for the innovations F1 used to produce before all of the regulations tightened up. Too bad.

[ellipsis212]

next year there will be 2 cars on the same team racing each other all season! go F1!

[Formel1]

Yes, and Kubica's camp is in heavy negotiations with McLaren...apparently...probably for tad under Kimi's demands...We'll have to wait til December to find out...but my money is they leave for now..

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by Formel1

Yes, and Kubica's camp is in heavy negotiations with McLaren...apparently...probably for tad under Kimi's demands...We'll have to wait til December to find out...but my money is they leave for now..

and Kubica is "willing" to do any PR crap McLaren and their sponsors tell them to do....remember all those silly PR stuff Robert and Nick did for BMW before...