Renault commits to GPWC series

According to Faure the French manufacturer, one of four car makers behind the GPWC (the others being Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and BMW), is totally committed to the new series. Although his reaffirmation may be seen as an attempt to keep the pressure on F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to find a resolution to the on-going dispute over commercial rights and television revenue.

"We have not reached an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone, and we are absolutely not ready to accept that there is not a better redistribution among the teams of the money generated by F1," Faure told Eurosport.

"We announced on Tuesday (October 26th) that we are working with ISE, a large affiliate of Dentsu and Publicis, to create a world championship that will take the place of Formula 1 from 2008, when the Concorde Agreement expires."

ISE (International Sports and Entertainment) has been set up as a joint venture between two leading marketing companies to establish and promote the rival series if the GPWC's demands for a greater share of F1's commercial income are not met.

"The only unacceptable thing is that 75 or 80 percent of Formula One profits stay with the 'Bernie system', and that the teams, who do all the work and create the spectacle, receive just 20 or 25 percent," said Faure. "I don't know any other sport that has that kind of statistic."