Renault: No regrets about selling stake
Renault says it has no regrets about selling a majority shareholding in its Formula 1 team to Genii Capital - despite the promising progress the outfit has made this year
On the back of a disappointing campaign last year, and the controversy surrounding the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix race-fix scandal, Renault opted over the winter to sell a 75% stake in the team to Gerard Lopez's Genii Capital company.
Since then the team has enjoyed a surge in form and is now back to challenging for podium finishes - as it targets even more progress in 2011.
But despite having given up a part of what is now a successful team, Renault Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata says his company is delighted with the way things have panned out - as he also dismissed recent speculation that the French car manufacturer was looking at buying back the team.
When asked by RMC radio at the Paris Motor Show about whether there were any regrets about Renault's course of action for this year, Pelata said: "No. What is important is not that the team is owned by Renault, but the fact that the team is well managed.
"Renault remains present and we continue to develop the engines. As well as that, Red Bull Racing, which is well set to win the championship, is equipped with Renault engines. It shows that we are very present. "
Pelata recently visited the Italian Grand Prix to get first-hand experience of the Renault F1 operation, and says he has nothing but praise for the effort that Lopez and team principal Eric Boullier have made.
"I was at Monza a few weeks ago where I met the whole team," he said. "I could see that the team had been restructured. Today, it has a much better organisation and is much more modern - which is why it is progressing at the moment.
"The results come not because there has been a miracle, but because the team has brought some new blood and undertook a restructuring that was necessary."
Speaking about the recent rumours suggesting Renault was considering buying back some shares from Genii Capital, Pelata said: "We have no intention of doing that.
"It [the F1 programme] costs us less [than before], and we are pleased with the results and the team progresses.
"But we're here to help, which includes developing a good engine. The current operation is doing very well - and that means we can be on the podium more often and from time to time on the top step."
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