http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/8343221.stm The BBC have just reported Renault are going to decide on Wednesday next week whether to quit F1. Where would that leave Robert Kubica? Or F1 generally.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/8343221.stm The BBC have just reported Renault are going to decide on Wednesday next week whether to quit F1. Where would that leave Robert Kubica? Or F1 generally.
Unlike Toyota, it will be a shame if Renault leaves as well. They are great team, winner of two WDC and two WCC and even in this abyssmal season won a podium and a pole-position. I will miss them if they leave although this is too understandable - Flavio and Symonds are banned, Alonso is to Ferrari and they were the architects of Renault success.
It would be a pity but it won't be a surprise.
NO automaker can afford to be in F1 at the moment.
Let's hope they leave and that they along with Toyota enter the WRC. Will be much better value for money.
They will no doubt claim financial reasons for quitting. Or perhaps they'll surprise me and be honest and say "we sucked this season so we are going to take our ball home".
I really hope Renault leaves because F1 really needs a dose of reality. FIA, CVC & Bernie need to get out of their little shell and improve the show for their TV audience.
It also doesn't help that F1 continues to hold races in countries that have little following or no attendance at all (Turkey). Plus, most of the new tracks have become boring sideshows.
And F1 no longer has a race in the largest car BUYING market in the world (USA). Given the recent global economic crisis, recent F1 soap operas, and lack of coverage in major markets, it's no irony that BMW, Honda and Toyota are gone.
ALMS/LMS is just waiting for it. Let's all go sports car racing at the best tracks in the world, not just the most expensive.
No, I think your first suggestion is most likely! No major corporate entity will ever issue a completely honest statement on such an issue. Resorting to bland spin is the only way they know how.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic
I hate to say I predicted both Toyota and Renault quitting earlier this year, but... :s
However I take no satisfaction from that - assuming of course that Renault do quit. Why would they have that meeting though if there wasn't at least something to discuss? Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, I must say.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
I agree with you but what car would they use for WRC?
Especially now that everyone is talking about the economic trend being positive after 2 years of free fall.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic
Well in reality Renault always made noises that if they are not competitive, they may quit.Quote:
Originally Posted by ioan
I suppose the staged crash in Singapore last year dented their reputation.
I'm sure either the Clio or Megane would make a good base.Quote:
Originally Posted by Langdale Forest
They would probably make it into an S2000.
Is the Laguna now out of production (I dunno the correct term in English, for which I am sorry).Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
The laguna would be a bit too big for the WRC.
Ah, pity. My Dad owns one, a beauty. Also I loved the old Laguna in the BTCC, in the late nineties. Ah, the sweet memories...Quote:
Originally Posted by Langdale Forest
Big cars have become WRC cars, Skoda used the big and heavy Octavia.
That's the correct term, but no, they're still selling it in the UK. In fact there seems to be a new one out soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by F1boat
http://www.channel4.com/4car/rt/larg...ad+test/2402/2http://www.renault.co.uk/cars/model/...h/product.aspx
Renault should be well placed once we come out of this recession. Their focus is small(er), more efficient cars which sell well in Europe. Plus their revenues are up due to the scrappage scheme so pulling out for financial reasons would be a lame excuse. Their reputation has taken a hit but I reckon they'll be here next year, especially as Red Bull seems to be keeping the Renault engines.
The question is why should any manufacturer be in f1? There has never been a successful manufacturer and so what if they are?
The destruction of the Renault team was caused because Briatore was thrown out of the sport. It became successful because it was Flavio's team and Renault got useful mileage, but now?
There is not a single reason why they should remain in f1. Formula 1 is a sport and the only reason people participate is because they want to. Just like any other.
And with the team now without its assets - Briatore and Alonso - its core value has been destroyed and it ought to be put out of its misery by the company because it is quite simply defunct.
You're suggesting that they're successful because of Flab? Then what about the last few years? :mark: Flab maketh not the team.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint Devote
Renault have been a waste of time in the last two years.
I don't think this has anything to do with the success or otherwise of the Renault F1 team. It is interesting that: [iRenault'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.[/i]
I have read reports previously that Renault sales never reflected their successes in F1, and I think this was the deciding factor. The company and sales just didn't get the benefit of all those wins in the WDC and WCC. After all, the Parisiens were clever enough to realise that the car in the show room didn't look anything like the F1 car.
So, another famous and staunch member of the F1 fraternity bites the dust. Next, we'll hear that Toyota wants to leave F1 also.
What!! they already did?? :confused:
I find it difficult that Renault believed their success was a result of floating on sleazy Flav. Only the deranged would believe that!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Renault have been on the verge of quitting ever since they took over Benetton, and remember it was only 1997 when they last quit F1. It was the reason that Alonso ended up at McLaren.
I can think of words more descriptive and appropriate than "mud", like something that comes out of the southern end of a North bound camel.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
Huh? Flav, like him or not, have won 4 championships. He is a good manager and knows how to organize people. Last years mean nothing. Ross Brawn, Ron Dennis and Frank Williams also have had poor seasons, yet nobody questions their ability.Quote:
Originally Posted by Valve Bounce
Agreed. Flav went from selling sweaters in America to running an F1 team and against all odds succeeded by using good management skills. I'm not surprised that despite his many deficiencies he was asked back by Renault when they bought out Benetton.Quote:
Originally Posted by F1boat
As for Renault, they have been looking for an exit strategy for a while and I don't think Piquetgate helped them much. More importantly, the sponsors have been jumping ship and new ones aren't very apparent. Ghosn being the kind of guy he is, I don't think he's going to waste time on anything he things doesn't give enough bang per buck.
Now Renault might not need an image boost around the world but Nissan does... I wonder if thats the only thing that could save the team now, but not in F1, more in something like Le Mans.
I don't suppose that the first two were a result of the driver SchM and some smart cheating with TRACS, while the second two were a direct result of a great driver known as Fernando.Quote:
Originally Posted by F1boat
If so, that was just a lucky guess!!
This I find very credible and possibly spot on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dylan H
Briatore was the energy and motivator of the team. That was the reason Renault gave him carte blance. And when he was told to win or the team was done he achieved victory - Renault are not blameless in what happened but he was also a convenient scape goat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
If Flavio had directed Toyota, they would still be in the sport.
The last few years are complicated. By the standards we are used to and to his credit, Renault was viewed as unsuccessful.
But the introduction of the control tyres caught Renaul out badly because their whole design was different to that required and they barely caught up and ultimately lost the plot this year.
As you are aware, formula one is an exceptionally difficult sport. Toyota, Honda and BMW found that out.
So without Briatore there really is no reason for the team to exist because he WAS the team. How committed will Renault be to f1? Just the fact that they are discussing that now shows their weakness in their reason for being.
Anecdotally a racing driver makes his own luck on track. It is not at all coincidental that Renault won - it was Briatore that MADE the decisions about who to hire. It was he that guided the team and the energies of the drivers you mention to not one but consecitive titles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Valve Bounce
The FIA were never friendly to Renault and the banning of the front wing was blatant, but Briatore's Renault coped.
Without Flavio there would have been nothing.
The team had success before they had anything to do with Renault and I hope they will have success afterwards too. I can't believe Renault would want to risk the adverse publicity of disbanding what appears to be a perfectly viable team. A Honda-style amicable hand-over to the managment or another buyer is surely more likely. (Toyota's situation was a bit different because they built their team from the ground up, rather than putting their name on an established team.)
I don't know why anybody is actually worried.
F1 is a lot bigger and better than all the car manufacturers and has coped admirably in the past without the likes of Renault and Toyota - and so therefore it can do again. The real bread and butter is the privateer teams who exist only to race - the likes of Williams and McLaren, along with Ferrari who were a F1 team before they made road cars.
Think back to the mid 80's. Renault pulled out. Alfa-Romeo pulled out. Did F1 suffer? No.
An era of F1 changes quickly and we are entering a new one now. In my opinion, it is for the best that prices are lower and privateer teams can come to the fore again - unlike the manufacturers who only race when they are winning and can chuck ridiculous sums of money into the pot with no success.
The problem for Toyota is that nobody really cares about them. Therefore, I won't miss them, and I won't miss Renault either.
Renault are staying in F1 .
Kubica is number one .
They will target 3rd in the championship .
This thread's title has been answered .
No , they will not quit .
Well, you can't know that for certain!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagwan
I think Renault will be best served in selling off their team, Toleman/Benetton whatever you want to call it, to someone else. But continue in the sport as an engine supplier. As their engines, while not the best on the grid, are fairly decent.
Yes! Brawn GP may remain competitive and Williams may recover!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bezza
We'll have to wait until the end of the year for a decision, according to Ghosn...
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80031
Personally, I smell a sale in the works... :\
Yep...reeks of wanting to get out but not break the Concorde agreement.