Renault Chief Says GPWC Solution is Close

The future of Formula One will be decided before the end of the season after Renault chairman Patrick Faure revealed that talks over the continuation of the World Championship have reached a final stage.

Faure is one of the ringleaders amongst a group of five motor manufacturers - Renault, Ferrari, BMW, DaimlerChrysler and Ford - who are aiming to reap more rewards from their involvement in the Championship.

They have set up plans for a new series, the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) which they could still create if discussions with Formula One's commercial rights holders, SLEC, fail to reach a positive conclusion.

But Faure is confident a decision is imminent and said: "This is a complicated issue but we are in the final phase of discussions on this matter and I think we should find a solution towards the end of October."

The manufacturers have been in talks with SLEC's two shareholders - Bernie Ecclestone's trust, which possesses 25 percent, and a group of banks, who own a 75 percent stake after taking it over from the collapsed German Kirch empire - for some time.

Faure said the manufacturers are also demanding that the sport is "managed more like a normal company" to ensure transparency in all its dealings if they decide to be involved in it in the future.