RENAULT COMPLETES BENETTON BUY-OUT.

As expected, French auto giant Renault has bought the Benetton Formula One team, marking the companys return to the top flight after a two year absence.

Renault has paid $120million for the right to take its place alongside the growing number of major manufacturers in the grand prix circus, but will not sever ties completely with the former owners, who will continue to be the teams main sponsor for the next two years. Through tuning company Supertec, Renault has supplied the technology for Benetton Formulas Playlife-badged engines since pulling out of Formula One in the wake of Jacques Villeneuves 1997 championship triumph.

The current fashion for major manufacturers to take a stake in existing F1 teams was seen as the perfect backdrop for the handover of Benetton to Renault, in an agreement which provided a solution to both parties immediate desires. Benetton has spent the past two seasons looking to align itself with a works engine deal, while Renault has hinted in recent months that it may be considering a return to the arena it dominated for seven seasons.

Today, globalisation means that it must be the specialists in each sector who compete in their own market, said Benetton Group president Luciano Benetton at a press conference to announce the deal, We have invested a great deal of effort in Formula One, and it has brought us more satisfaction than we could have imagined.

Now, to guarantee the development the team deserves in this global scenario, it is appropriate to pass the baton to Renault. I take this opportunity to thank all the sponsors who have supported us with passion in this extraordinary adventure, and I am particularly grateful to Mild Seven and the Japan Tobacco Group for the fundamental support they have always guaranteed us.

Further details will be revealed as the press call continues.