Russia to sponsor Renault with Lada branding

Russia is set to sponsor the Renault formula one team in 2010, prime minister Vladimir Putin has announced.

Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov has been signed to race this year for the Enstone based team, which has been essentially taken over by the private equity firm Genii Capital.

But the team retains its identity and name, and French carmaker Renault’s chief executive Carlos Ghosn met this week with Putin.

"We will sponsor this activity (the F1 team) as a first step, and do not rule out later increasing our financial participation in the project," the prime minister is quoted as saying in Moscow by the news agency EFE.

Putin said Renault’s signing of the first Russian driver Petrov, 25, is a "great symbol of cooperation" between the French marque and Russia.

He said the branding of the Russian carmaker Lada will appear on Renault’s 2010 car and team.

Renault bought a 25 per cent stake in Lada parent Avtovaz for $1 billion in 2008, and it is reported that Ghosn may now increase the French marque’s involvement.