JUNE 8, 2011

Doubts mount over Renault

The long term commitment of Renault to F1 is starting to look shaky with FIA president Jean Todt reportedly confirming in an interview that be believes the company will withdraw if the small capacity turbo engines are not adopted in 2013.

"When I talk to those responsible at Renault they tell me they will go out of F1 if this new engine does not come in 2013," Todt told Spain's Diario Sport, "When I talk to Mercedes and Ferrari they ask me to postpone the introduction for a couple of years. They are not against the rules but want them postponed. So in the coming days, I will keep up the contacts personally to see where we are."

There are also believed to be tensions within the team, with an external agent employed by Genii Capital to assess the operational efficiency of the team in Barcelona.

Team boss Eric Boullier, meanwhile, has denied rumours of financial difficulty, which first surfaced last year when the team attempted to secure advance payment of FOM revenues that would fall due, in order to cover a shortfall in expected sponsorship income.