Ghosn turmoil still surrounding Renault team

One month before winter testing begins, turmoil continues to surround Renault.

At the end of last November, the French carmaker’s CEO Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan on corruption charges. He remains in prison, having been denied bail.

It is believed Renault, under pressure from its major shareholder the French government, could draft in Michelin chief executive Jean-Dominique Senard to replace him as soon as this week.

The turmoil might also be involving Renault’s works F1 team.

Just days ago, it was announced that Thierry Koskas, the brand new Renault Sport president, was leaving the carmaker.

Jerome Stoll, who had stepped aside to make way for Koskas, therefore returns as team president.

But team boss Cyril Abiteboul insists the F1 team is unaffected by the turmoil surrounding Ghosn.

"We don’t see any reason why there would be more impact on this programme than on anything else," he said.

"My message is that there is a continuity plan for all the operations of the Renault Group as well as Nissan and Mitsubishi. Formula one is part of this operation," added Abiteboul.