Following high level talks in Paris yesterday, Renault boss Carlos Ghosn has said the French manufacturer will make a decision on its F1 plans before the end of 2009.

"You will have to be patient," Ghosn (right) told reporters. "We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula One before the end of the year."

Rumours of an immediate departure for the French team began yesterday, when the BBC reported that Renault was "considering" an exit while today, British tabloid the Daily Mail proclaimed that the French manufacturer is pulling out of the sport.

There has been speculation about Renault's future for some time, first with the recession, which has particularly hit the car industry, then the departure of a number of sponsors including the Dutch banking group ING. To cap it all, other than a poor season on-track, the French team was at the midst of one of the biggest scandals in sporting history, the fixing of the result of the 2008 Singapore GP when Nelson Piquet deliberately crashed his car.

While many say the French manufacturer has been looking for a way to exit the sport with a certain amount of dignity, a respected source told Pitpass that Renault has "already sold its soul to the FIA".