Grapevine: Renault: 'No News' on Gascoyne

Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne is rumoured to be on a leave of absence from the French squad before he begins working for rival Toyota.

According to grandprix.com, Gascoyne is no longer working at Renault, taking a 'gardening leave' before he is able to start working for Toyota next season. Speculation about Gascoyne's future was fuelled this weekend by the fact that the Briton has not travelled to Indianapolis for the United States Grand Prix.

Since this year's Monaco Grand Prix, Gascoyne has been linked to a multi-million dollar move to Toyota. Both Renault and Toyota have previously denied the story, however when approached today at Indianapolis, Renault refused to comment on the latest reports, only stating that there is "no news."

Gascoyne joined Renault in 2001, after three years with Jordan. When asked in a recent interview with Atlas F1 about his rumoured move to Toyota, Gascoyne said: "Well I'm not going to comment on those rumours. [...] I'm here at Renault and trying 100% to win at Renault, and I'll do that until the day that I'm not at Renault, and then I'll try 100% to beat them the day after! That's the way of the world, but I've got no comment to make specifically."