Enstone, Friday: After senior members of Renault management met yesterday to discuss the future of the Formula One team, it has been revealed that the French corporation intends to sell its F1 team through online auction site eBay.
Rival bids, from Luxembourg’s Gravity consortium and British team Prodrive, have been considered by the team, with Russian telecommunications giant MegaFon also rumoured to be interested in purchasing the outfit, which is expected to be sold after Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn suddenly realised that F1 wasn’t very environmentally friendly.
However, the team’s top brass in Paris and the F1 team’s management in Enstone are said to disagree over who should be allowed to complete the purchase, with Gravity favoured by the French and Prodrive by the British-based team members. Instead, senior management have resolved that the whole concern should be put up for sale on eBay, allowing rivals to publicly bid for ownership.
“This way, we get the best possible price and ensure that the best people are bound to take control,” a Renault spokesman said. “Or at least, the people willing to pay the most for it. But that’s the same thing as ‘best,’ isn’t it?”
Meanwhile, Prodrive boss Dave Richards spoke for the first time on his intention to get back into Formula One, having been outside the sport since he was sacked by BAR in 2004. “It is my intention to bring Prodrive into F1 without having to do any work whatsoever,” he pointed out. “Instead of the usual approach, of building a car in your factory and racing it, we’re going to buy a factory, complete with an F1 car already in it, and race that instead. It’s the future of F1, I tell you.”
The eBay auction is scheduled to go live some time this weekend, though a reserve price for the team has not yet been specified.
