09/02/2006
NEWS STORY
It would appear that earlier reports - and we include ourselves at Pitpass - regarding Carlos Ghosn's comments this morning, have been taken out of context and therefore give an inaccurate impression.
Asked at this morning's 'State of the Union' press conference if Renault will continue its commitment to Formula 1, Ghosn replied:
"We have already answered this question. Yes, 2006, we have a good team and a good group. The initial testing has been promising.
"You are asking a question without a time limit, in fact you are asking the question and saying 'are you committed indefinitely'. I don't know. If it is in Renault's interest to stay, we will. 2007, then 2008, then 2009. We will take it year-by-year, session by session, result by result. As long as it remains a good investment for Renault, we will stay. The day that it is no longer, we will go.
"At the moment, it is a good investment for Renault," he continued. "I am confident that the team we have at the moment, that won a double championship in 2005, will be fighting for good results in 2006. There will be changes to the rules of F1 in 2007/8, which we are analysing, and on an extremely objective basis, we will decide the length of our commitment in light of that.
"For the moment, we are moving forward, we are fighting and, what is very important in my view, we are proving, through Formula 1, what Renault is capable of, and that the cost of Formula 1 is in fact an investment."