Renault boss: Lots of questions about F1

Thursday 26th November 2009

There are fresh doubts over Renault's continued participation in Formula One after the manufacturer's CEO Carlos Ghosn warned that there remain "lots of questions" about the sport.

Renault's F1 future has been in uncertain ever since the Singapore race-fixing scandal when they were a handed a two-year suspended ban.

The team insisted after the FIA hearing that it would stay the course only to reveal a couple of weeks later that a decision on its participation will not be taken until the end of the year.

With the year almost out, Ghosn has now added to the speculation that the French carmaker may yet follow Honda, BMW and Toyota out of the sport.

"F1 is one of the most seen spectacles in the world," he told Forbes India magazine.

"It is facing some challenges - challenges on how fair it is and how do you marry F1 with environmental concerns? Can you bring zero emissions through technology? There are lots of questions about F1...

"I don't think it is going to be very important for anybody, if it doesn't answer some of the concerns that surround F1. I notice that in the last year, three car manufacturers have bowed out of F1 - three in one year!

"That means there are a lot of questions that we need to resolve."

Your Comments

pasikuikka

"I won't miss them. If they're concerned with environmental stuff why not produce more environment friendly cars or quality cars that lasts and aren't scrapped away within 5-7 years instead of French tinfoils."

Dane

"Renault will most likely stay in F1, as an engine supplier only"

velocityboy

"I think that from a manufacturers perspective he is asking some very important questions. If racing is to lead to innovations in road cars, the rules have to be such that they encourage development in those areas. Requiring low emissions and moving away from fossil fuels are a couple of things that could keep manufacturers interested in participating. For instance, if there were no engine restrictions for cars that did not use fossil fuels we would probably see the manufacturers coming up with some serious innovations in just a few years. "