Renault remains quiet about the executive committee meeting yesterday during which the future of the company in Formula 1 was one of the subjects under discussion. According to the latest sources in France the company has been looking for an exit strategy which will allow the company to leave without breaking the Concorde Agreement. Although it is believed that there are no sanctions specifically mentioned in the agreement, it is nonetheless a binding legal document and the signatories can therefore seek compensation if any party fails to keep its commitments. Clause 4.2 states that “each team undertakes to participate in the FIA F1 Championship each year for the duration of the term and to participate in every event”.
There are believed to be various get-out clauses for force majeure, such as wars, earthquakes, revolutions and so on but these do not cover lack of funding nor a management change of mind.
The agreement does allow for a team to be sold to another party and such a team can be renamed if the F1 Commission agrees. The situation is believed to be rather more complicated than originally thought, with two groups wishing to take over the team: one is popular with the Renault management in Paris; the other with the top management of the team in England. The danger is that if Renault sells the team to the wrong group, the major players will depart. Several are believed to have jobs lined up already.
The first of the two bidders is a company called GenII Capital, a Luxembourg-based private investment company, which invests in brands and ideas. This involves Gerard Lopez and Eric Lux, two men who have invested in such concepts as a Charlie Chaplin Museum in Switzerland, in the design of an alternative energy engine and a driver management organisation called Gravity, which has a number of drivers involved, including China’s Ho Ping Tung. It is rumoured that Gravity is also on the verge of signing Kamui Kobayashi. The partners are keen for the F1 project to pay for itself and would like to do B2B deals with Renault over technology that they are developing. They seem willing to keep the team as Renault F1 for two years. According to French sources this put them on pole position for the purchase.
However, David Richards is also bidding and wants to turn the team into Aston Martin in two years from now. This is believed to be the preferred option of the team members in England but may not be quite as attractive to Renault. It is believed, however, that the team would continue to use Renault engines for at least two years and they may be offering more money than GenII Capital, although this is not certain as the backers of Aston Martin have had some financial difficulties in recent years. Having said that Kuwait is a wealthy country, sitting as it does on 8% of the world’s known oil reserves. The global financial crisis has slowed the pace of investment and development projects, but Kuwait has the financial resources to do as it pleases in the longer term. Among those involved in the company are the Efad Group, which is involved in banking, insurance, real estate, the hospitality industry and the service sector., Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security , the business empire of Mohamed Saleh and Reza Yousuf Behbehani, whcih is the distributor and the agent for various well-known brands specialized in automobiles, tyres, watches, luxury luggage products, soft drinks and beverages, printing equipment, and soil test equipment; and the Mutawa & Al Kazi Company a major dealer in the automotive industry in Kuwait, which imports and distributes premier brands such as Honda. There are around 800 investors in the business from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. The company has recently come to terms with its investors over its plans for the future after being caught out in the financial crisis.
joeblogsf1 
And so finally the angle on Tung is revealed and it makes alot of sense.
Cheers.
It is good to know that there are people interested in signing Kamui Kobayashi. The boy has talent and I would love to see him in a F1 car once again.
Without knowing the exact details, I’m sure that the team would have the best chance of surviving and later growing in the hands of Dave Richards, no question about that.
Dave Richards would seem like the better bet. He’s very patient isn’t he? And won’t dive unless he’s got all the odds lined up on his side… So you got the Concorde agreement in hand ? haha
It must be some kind of an amazing plan to keep the company name Renault F1.
Apparently Mr. Ghosn thinks RF1 can make a Brawn in the next couple of years and he wants the rewards for Renault. Gambling, good for him!
Anyway, I’m happy for F1. It returns to what it must be, not some spending competition between van manufacturers.
F1 has always stood out for exclusive and glamourous image, there is absolutely nothing exclusive or glamourous if you are producing over a million cars every year.
Here’s hoping that a someone with a racing pedigree like Richards gets a chance with the team. He would definitely be preferable to “Luxembourg-based private investment company” whose long-term commitment is likely questionable. However, if they do end up as the buyer, I hope they keep Tung out of the car…he was 15 seconds off the pace in Jerez yesterday!
The last thing I want to see in Formula One is Dave Richards re-entering it. Not that I’ve got anything against Richards but the problem is he intends to rebrand his F1 team as Aston Martin. Think back a few years, Ford for what they thought were the right reasons chose to rebrand the Stewart team as Jaguar. A mistake from the very start as many people on the ground pointed out at the time.
To an old fashioned sports car racing fan like me Jaguar was a fabled name, you messed with it at your peril. The same applies to Aston Martin. Ford’s crass decision hammered several more nails into the coffin of Jaguar’s reputation, any move to F1 will do the same for Aston Martin.
Prodrive will not be able to run F1 and Sports Car teams, even Ferrari cannot manage that these days, so the sports car team will go just as Aston are rebuilding a reputation as makers of sporting cars good enough to be raced.
It’s my opinion that in the public’s eye Toyota and Renault are mass market car makers, they play at F1 and if they are successful, all well and good, if not, well why would you expect them to be? Their road cars aren’t really sporting. Jaguar and Aston Martin (and Mercedes will find the same) are expected to be good from the start, they have a lot more to lose than the mass market manufacturers.
More bloody investment bankers. _Of_course_ this is the bid Bernie favours — the financial wizards have such a good track record in F1. You’ve just got to look at Qadbak’s masterful takeover of BMW, or Simon Gillett’s sterling work turning Donington and the British GP into a real money-spinner. They’re right — nobody cares about the actual ability to go motor-racing — financial engineering it what it’s all about!
A new foray into F1 by Aston Martin could hardly be more disappointing than the DBR4/250, could it?
Whilst I’d like to see Richards in I shudder at the thought of Aston Martin’s name in the field somewhere getting dragged down.
I’m not convinced DR wants to bring the Aston Martin name into F1, at least not right away. It makes more sense to run as Prodrive and see how successful they are before bringing the big name in.
Renault will stay in F1. They made all clear during the Singapore GP episode.
No, DPR, NOT Aston. Please.
Bad move. Aston are NOT about F1, they are Le Mans cars. Sports cars, Grand Tourers, Leather and wood. 200MPH gentlemen’s clubs. Not something with it’s wheels vulgarly on display.
But the alternative of Luxembourg financial whiz’s is horrific.
I don’t understand why Renault would favour the bidders who would continue to race the cars as Renaults.
Ghosn said a few years ago that Renault was interested in F1 only if they were in the top three. Last year they were 8th, despite having possibly the best driver on the grid. In 2010, they will be without either a top driver (if Kubica has a get-out clause) or their highly-successful former technical director. So why, logically, should they be expected to do any better than 8th if they are run by GenII Capital? So why would Renault want their name on a losing car?
I don’t get it, the whole thing. If GenII expect to break even, why couldn’t Renault break even? And if Renault still want their name on the car, even though it’ll be run worse than they could run it themselves, why sell the company at all? The only real difference is that they (apparently) lose Kubica.
Could it be just a bluff to get more money out of Richards?
I hope Prodrive will buy the team but David Richards keeps Aston Martin out of the picture. That marque should stick to sports car racing in my opinion. Prodrive used to run a factory programme for Subaru in WRC for a years. Why couldn’t they run a semi-factory programme for Renault in F1?
I think i read earlier today that Bernie thinks Renault will stay in. Still doesn’t make the situation clearer. I hope Renault stay in one form or another; it would be a shame to see Robert Kubica without a drive next season.
Just thinking about who could take the 2nd seat at Renault next season. Kovalainen stands out in my mind, 2 years at McLaren is convincing enough for teams to sign him, personally I can’t see him at a new team such as Lotus or USF1. Doubt Mercedes would be intrested. My bet has to be on Renault or possibly Sauber. What does anyone else think?
I was curious if anyone knew anything about these professional sports ? I am considering signing up for this sports handicapping service. It looks pretty promising and its supported by a clickback guarantee which means your going to get your money back if you don’t like the system or it simply doesn’t work. Has anyone tried a system like this?