Performance is paramount in F1, says Renault head
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-05-30 09:01
LONDON, May 29 - Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn has assured
Formula One team chief Flavio Briatore that he will have the money he needs to
keep on winning after a triumphant weekend in Monaco.
World champion Fernando Alonso was victorious in the season's showcase race
for the French manufacturers on Sunday while Ghosn repeated that Renault were
committed to remaining competitive in the sport.
"We are performance driven. Period," he told reporters. "Get the performance
and then we discuss budgets.
"The budget does not come first. We tell Flavio that performance is our first
responsibility -- compete at the top level and win."
Renault say their Formula One budget is considerably less than some of their
rivals, such as Toyota who are estimated to have spent well over $1 billion
since their debut in 2002.
Ghosn, who took over the top job at Renault last year with a reputation as a
cost-cutter, made clear that costs would remain tightly controlled however.
"The most gifted people usually use smaller budgets for bigger results," he
said. "I would be very embarrassed if I had the biggest budget and no results."
Champions Renault have won five of the seven races so far and this month
joined other manufacturers in committing long-term to the sport.
The Renault CEO said his vision of Formula One's future was to put on a show
for the public without allowing the sport to become dominated by technology.
"Formula One should not be something which is under the control of engineers.
This is something which should be for the public," he declared.
Renault's biggest challenge, he said, was to use the track success to
increase sales in the showrooms.
"If you had seen the Nissan line-up in 1999 and you see the Nissan line-up in
2006, its completely different," said Ghosn, who is also chief executive of the
Japanese car company 44 percent owned by Renault.
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