MAY 31, 2006

Ghosn talks about F1

Renault boss Carlos Ghosn was in Monaco and had some interesting things to say about the sport.

"Formula 1 now has a good commercial agreement in place, a good vision for the technology in the sport, and healthy competition," he said. "These are good signs for the future. We have a long-term perspective on Formula 1. For me personally, and for Renault, there was never uncertainty about our commitment to Formula 1. We are here to attract people and promote our brand, and we are doing it with good results and in the right spirit. The question for Renault was and is how we convert that F1 involvement into growth for the brand. That will become concrete with Renault Contract 2009. There are a lot of cars arriving in the next three years that will benefit directly from the halo effect of our Formula 1 victories.

"Providing a budget is not the issue, and indeed we are in a stronger position than many of our competitors. Our team exists to achieve performance. We will not set a budget, and see how much we can achieve with it. Quite the reverse: the team is winning, they are doing a very good job, and we will give them the means to carry on doing so."