Category: Renault

More pics from Valencia, this time of Robert Kubica putting the new Renault R30 though its paces. Although, unfortunately for Renault their car is a bit off the pace at the moment. Kubica was the slowest of yesterday’s eight runners and while he has improved on his times already in day 2 of testing at Valencia he is still over 3 seconds from the head of the pack.

These are early days yet and Chief Race Engineer, Alan Permane,is cautiously optimistic, “A fairly positive first day of running with the R30 with Robert in the car. We concentrated on putting mileage on the car and spent time getting Robert comfortable in the car.”

Kubica will be the only Renault driver on track today, with Vitaly Petrov getting his first taste of serious F1 action in tomorrow’s final testing day.

If you want to keep up to date with the on track action, sign up to the AUSmotive F1 list on twitter. You’ll see all the latest tweets from team bosses and journos who are currently trackside.

There’s only a few hours to go until the new Renault R30 is revealed to the public in Valencia, but, already images of the 2010 F1 racecar have been leaked. In actual fact, according to French website ToileF1, the pics were leaked by Renault themselves who hit the “go live” button on their 2010 website a little too early. Whatever the reason, if the the striking colours of the Renault livery shown here are accurate, their cars will look great on the 2010 grid.

In other news, it is expected Renault will announce Russian driver Vitaly Petrov as Robert Kubica‘s teammate at today’s launch.

Peter Sauber will also be launching his team’s new look at Valenica today, ahead of tomorrow’s first official test session.

[Source: ToileF1.com via andyblackmore]

The Renault name will remain in Formula One into the 2010 season. However, as much as 75-80% of the operation will be sold to Luxembourg based company Genii Capital.

According to a statement posted on the Renault F1 website (available after the jump) this deal will help secure a long term future for the French manufacturer, who have a 35 year history in F1, “The new partnership will contribute to procuring the team the resources to compete sustainably at the highest level, and creates a great opportunity to modernise its governance.”

The news will certainly come as a welcome relief to former BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica who was signed by Renault after he was left without a seat following BMW’s departure from F1.

Meanwhile, Bernard Rey, Renault’s Team President is understably happy with today’s announcement, “I am delighted to welcome Genii Capital as our new strategic partner as I am sure that their enthusiasm and business expertise will create a new dynamic for the team, the staff, and our partners. Altogether, we look forward to competing again at the highest level in Formula One.”

Rumours first surfaced of a Renault withdrawal from Formula One about six weeks ago. A little over a week ago strong rumours suggested that Prodrive were set for a complete buyout of Renault’s F1 program. Now, though, another piece of the 2010 Formula One jigsaw has been locked into place in what has been one of the best silly season’s ever.

And with Schumacher watch in full operation, I think we are yet to see the biggest and best news the sport could hope for.

The Renault quitting F1 rumours first emerged around a month ago. But, then… silence. Until now. According to autosport.com Renault execs have been discussing the company’s future in Formula One, with the very high possibility that the team will be sold to Dave Richards’ Prodrive outfit.

Prodrive have been flirting with the idea of joining the F1 posse for some time now, and perhaps all the planets are about to align for them. With Richards owning a stake in Aston Martin there is even a slim chance that we could see a team under the Aston Martin banner in F1. That would be something!

A Prodrive spokesman put their wishes in very clear terms, as reported on autosport.com: “We cannot comment on the Renault situation, but it is well known that our intention is to get back into F1.”

Despite increasing speculation Renault’s F1 team are busy working on preparing the car for the 2010 season, being one of the many teams currently testing in Jerez. Several staffing issues have also been finalised in a bid to improve its chances for success next year.

[Source: autosport.com]

Is Renault the next manufacturer to pull out of Formula One? That’s the story currently doing the rounds on the internetz. According to a report on Autocar.co.uk the Renault board is meeting in the next few hours to discuss its future in the sport.

It is understood that Renault, still a bit gun shy after the “Crashgate” saga, may follow Toyota out of F1. Although, having secured a new sponsor and previously confirming Robert Kubica as a driver for 2010, Renault some reasonably serious commitments already locked away for next season.

Hmm, could be an interesing story developing here. Watch this space!

[Source: Autocar]

Documents released by the FIA reveal that a fourth Renault team member knew about “Crashgate” while the plans were being hatched. Previously, it was understood that only team boss Flavio Briatore, Executive Director Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet Jr knew of the plan to fix the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The witness testimony from this fourth member, referred to by AUSmotive as “Terminator X”, is what sealed Briatore’s fate and saw him condemned to a life ban from Formula One. All relevant parties have been asked to keep the identity of the whistle-blower confidential.

Court documents state that Renault F1 believes knowledge of this conspiracy was limited to the four individuals. “Terminator X” was not a willing participant in the “Crashgate” plot and on hearing of the plans objected immediately. It is believed that the whistle-blower did not know if the conspiracy would actually be carried out until the moment Piquet Jr crashed.

A two page statement from a contrite Pat Symonds is also included in the documents and it can be read in full after the jump. It makes an interesting read and confirms earlier reports that Symonds claims the whole ordeal was a plan of Piquet Jr’s creation.

I doubt we have heard the last of this.

[Source: BBC]