Renault gets new business partner for rest of season
Vyborg Shipyard JSC has been announced as Renault’s new partner who will join the team for the rest of the 2010 Formula One season. This is Renault’s second collaboration with a Russian company this year,
following a signing with car manufacturer Lada.
The deal comes after Renault F1 chairman Gerard Lopez revealed that the possibility of signing 2008 champion Kimi Raikkonen, who is seeking a return to F1, depended heavily on both sponsorships and investments,
as well as the progress of rookie driver Vitaly Petrov. “People like to do business with winning teams,” he stated in an exclusive interview with
Autosport. “So it goes hand in hand. For us still, the main consideration in this is the business one. And it has become more important now that we've solidified the team, that we've found the sponsors, that we're bringing the sponsors, [and] that
we're doing whatever needs to be done.”
As for Petrov, the chairman emphasized that the driver’s progress was consistent and compatible with the team’s building strategy, and that he is also a valuable asset. “He is a driver that has 250 000
000 Russian-speaking people that are convinced in him, so we'd be stupid not to assume that there is a business behind that,” Lopez commented. “But we have to build the driver. He is to us a very important element, just as Robert [Kubica] is.”
And Petrov’s background has already been useful. A native of Vyborg, Russia, the 26-year-old talent is credited with being the main draw for the company’s sponsorship, and will don the logo on his racing
overalls. “Both companies have been attracted to the team by Vitaly Petrov's promising debut season as Russia's first ever F1 driver,” the Renault team claimed.
Vyborg Shipyard JSC is one of the largest ship-building companies in Northwest Russia, and specializes in 200 types of vessels and 30 offshore units. The company is set to partner up with the team for
the remaining 2010 season, with no suggestions of a 2011 contract as yet.
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