Renault will race in F1 in 2010 – Maybe

UPDATE (GMM) Following Wednesday's emergency board meeting, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn on Thursday refused to confirm whether the French carmaker will stay in formula one in 2010.

"You will have to be patient," he told reporters at a PR event. "We will announce our strategy in terms of Renault's role in formula one before the year's end.

"It's not very far away, it's in a few weeks," Ghosn added.

Citing the global recession and amid the slump in new car sales, Toyota announced its immediate departure from the sport on Wednesday.

It was then reported that Renault was meeting to discuss its commitment to F1. Honda and BMW have already left the sport, and Bridgestone will follow suit after the 2010 season.

Failed FIA presidential candidate Ari Vatanen told CNN the big companies are "right to quit".

"(They) would stay in the FIA championship if the sport was known for positive news and if it was a good avenue for marketing and promotion — but formula one is only known for conflict, crisis and court cases recently, and big companies cannot afford that," the 57-year-old Finn added.

11/05/09 (GMM) Shooting down speculation to the contrary, Renault's F1 managing director Jean-Francois Caubet insists a working budget for 2010 has been approved and the team will race in formula one next year.

Following the announcement of Toyota's departure on Wednesday, the Renault board met in Paris, triggering reports that the French carmaker could be the next to quit F1.

But Caubet told the sports daily L'Equipe: "We have already contracted our drivers, had our budget approved and are enrolled in the world championship. Season 2010 has begun already."

He said Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has also laid out his expectations for Renault's 2010 season; that the team "returns to a good level".

"We will not be world champions in 2010, but we do have hopes to be much improved," Caubet continued.