01/11/2004
NEWS STORY
Patrick Faure, president of Renault F1, one of the founding members of the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC), has said that the French manufacturer is fully prepared to leave F1 for the new championship in 2008.
The issue, as ever, is money, the manufacturers behind the GPWC argue that it is they, and the teams, that put on 'the show' that is F1, and consequently deserve a bigger share of the income.
"We have not reached an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone," Faure told Eurosport, "and we are absolutely not ready to accept that there is not a better redistribution among the teams of the money generated by F1.
"We announced on Tuesday that we are working with iSe to create a world championship that will take the place of Formula One from 2008, when the Concorde Accord expires.
"The only unacceptable thing is that 75 or 80% of Formula One profits stay with the 'Bernie system'," he added, "and that the teams, who do all the work and create the spectacle, receive just 20 or 25%. I don't know any other sport that has that kind of statistic."
He also said that the issue had reached the point of no return.
In recent weeks there has been widespread speculation that Renault is already looking hard at its involvement in F1, with Carlos Ghosn, the future CEO of Renault, said to be eyeing the company's withdrawal from F1, though this was denied by Faure who claims that Ghosn told him that the F1 project will continue.
However, the fact is that Renault is spending around $300m on its F1 ambitions, while a WRC or even WTCC programme would cost considerably less.
Therefore, unless Renault enjoys a considerable improvement in its F1 fortunes in 2005, and by that we mean winning the championship or at least seriously challenging for it, it's quite possible that the French team will have 'left the building' long before 2008.