F1 News: Renault Considering Getting Out

The heads of French carmaker Renault gathered in Paris on Wednesday in a ‘crisis’ meeting to discuss its future participation in the Formula One racing circuit.

On the heels of the largest car manufacturer Toyota’s painful desertion, Ari Vatanen opines that the state of F1 is on the skids.

Vatanen, 57, recently lost his bid to take over the reigns of the world motorsport's governing body the FIA.

Renault suffered through its worst season 2002, finishing in eighth place in the constructors' championship after Sunday's race in Abu Dhabi. In addition, Renault was rocked by the "Crashgate" scandal involving a deliberate accident by Nelson PiquetNelson Piquet Jr's during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

A decision will not be forthcoming until the end of the year announced Renault on Thursday.

Vatanen suggests it’s mainly the state of FIA governance to blame while getting in a dig at the former administration. He also lays little blame to the global economic downturn.

"If you analyze it Renault is right, they are a serious international corporation and not loonies like Max MosleyMax Mosley [former FIA president] has called them, they are just very disillusioned with the governance of Formula One," Vatanen reasoned.

"[Renault] would stay in the FIA championship if the sport was known for positive news and if it was a good avenue for marketing and promotion -- but Formula One is only known for conflict, crisis and court cases recently, and big companies cannot afford that."

Formula One has seen not only the exit of Toyota but also of Honda and Germany's BMW over the last year, both citing economics as a reason.

Ferrari seems to agree with Vatanen's take. In a statement published on its website, Ferrari states: "The reality is that this gradual defection from the F1 fold has more to do with a war waged against the major car manufacturers by those who managed Formula 1 over the past few years, than the result of any economic crisis."