Renault boss calls for more revenue

With the FIA due to announce on Friday the list of entrants that have been accepted for the 2010 championship, Ghosn thinks it is time that a bigger share of commercial rights income is handed to the sport's competitors.

Speaking to France's National Assembly on Wednesday, Ghosn was in feisty mood as he urged F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and owners CVC to reform the payment structure.

"We are the ones doing the show, who bring in the technology, who bring in the engines, who hire the drivers. And if we do the show, the revenues of Formula 1 must come back to us," he was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.

He added: "Today we pay to be in Formula 1; that is not normal. Intermediaries have made enough money with this. We want to take back control of Formula 1."

Renault's wholehearted commitment to reducing costs was made clear in letters leaked earlier this week confirming the team was to shut its factory down for two weeks in August and was serious about its threat to quit.

In the first letter sent to suppliers of the team, it was confirmed that there would be a factory shutdown from August 3 to August 16, as teams had agreed to do this year as part of their cost-cutting plans.

"The two-week factory shutdown period is one of the initiatives aimed at reducing the costs associated to Formula 1 that have been agreed by all F1 teams," said the letter, a copy of which has been seen by AUTOSPORT.

In a second letter, Renault said that the stance adopted by Flavio Briatore and Bernard Rey on May 13, that the team could quit F1 if it is not happy with planned regulations, was not just sabre rattling.

"The numerous changes in the Formula 1 Championship's technical and sporting regulations, which are receiving extensive press coverage of late, mean that RENAULT Sport can no longer be sure of its long-term business outlook," said the letter.

"In the face of these challenges, RENAULT Sport must not only substantially reduce its activity, budget and therefore its list of suppliers, but may even decide, in the worst case scenario, as mentioned by Bernard Rey and Flavio Briatore on 13 May, not to compete in the Formula 1 World Championship in 2010.

"Given this context and in the interests of offsetting any possible drop in business volumes on our part for your firm, it is your prerogative to adopt whichever measures you see fit to ensure the continuity of your business, such as commencing a search for alternative clients, other markets or by diversifying."