AUGUST 4, 2015

Renault taking longer to decide future

Renault is giving itself more time to decide its future.

Renault is giving itself more time to decide its future.

That is the claim of Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, amid earlier reports that the French carmaker is now on the cusp of announcing its return to full works status by buying the Enstone team Lotus.

"Decision in September," F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul was quoted as saying by the authoritative sports daily.

It has been said Renault's final call could rock formula one, prompting divorce with the two Red Bull teams and a domino effect with regards to engine supply at other teams.

Abiteboul, however, insists: "We will honour our contract with Red Bull and Toro Rosso in 2016, as they are two fantastic and very demanding teams. Then we will evaluate the various options.

"We are working on a lot of things, including trying to make our engine more competitive. We want to make sure to take the best decision possible, reflecting a long term strategy."

Finally, Abiteboul reassured the racing world that, whatever the final decision, "Renault will remain a major player in the motor sport world."

(GMM)