Petrov could lose Renault contract as early as March
February 8, 2010 by vmr
Filed under People & Events, Top Story
Multiple sources have been reporting that Vitaly Petrov could well lose his 2010 Renault contract a week after it was announced, but the initial reaction here at F1B was skepticism. It is Formula1, and this is not all that uncommon, but the sources seemed a bit less credible than we like. With some digging, though, the original Russian source surfaced. The information comes from Petrov’s apparently frustrated father in what appears to be (though Google’s translation from Russian is poor) a profile of the driver, written by visiting his hometown and talking to his family and neighbors as the Valencia tests were occurring. The entire article is quite informative about Petrov’s youth and love of racing, but it is not until nearly the end where Petrov’s father begins discussing the current money troubles with Renault (here in the original Russian). While the article feels quite credible, it is important to note that we’ve never heard of this paper before and it holds hints of tabloid style.
In the interview, there are a few very important nuggets of information: 1. Petrov does not come with the required-by-Renault 15 million euro sponsorship, but 7.5 from the mortgage of his parent’s property, 2. the first 7.5 million euros from the mortgage are still not forthcoming from the bank (and if they’re not paid to Renault by March, Petrov can be dropped), 3. there is no huge Russian sponsorship backing Petrov as has been assumed, and 4. Petrov still lacks the money for the second installment of 7.5 million euros to Renault. The following block quotes come directly from Alexander, Petrov’s father, in the article.
Renault requested just such a sum [15 million euros]… and allowed [us] to make money in two installments, delaying payment of the first – until March, and the second – until July. Oksana [Petrov's manager, Oksana Kosachenko] bypassed five hundred large Russian companies, but everywhere was refused!…Thank God, at the last moment my friend – Chairman of the Board of Directors of one of the St. Petersburg banks – did not refuse to issue a credit for 7.5 million euros. To do this, I had to lay the property.
From this, it sounds as though the Petrov’s have mortgaged their home for one half of young Vitaly’s race drive. The interviewer then asks “where are going to get the second part of the sum?” and Petrov’s father answers,
I do not know. Time is quite a bit. If, before the middle of the season will not find the remaining seven and a half million euros, the right to brand Vitaly Petrov, and half of the proceeds will go the team Renault…Incidentally, the first seven and a half million, we still have not received. The bank extended the consideration of an application for a loan – money is huge. If, before the first of March we do not make the first payment, Vitalik can change to another pilot.
This is very interesting news, essentially saying that Petrov’s Formula1 future at Renault, even after a test, is very much in doubt. The first payment from the bank hasn’t arrived and the family does not know where they will find the sponsors for the second half of the payment. One does have to wonder, however, if Renault were aware of the financial situation and took the risk, or if the Petrov’s somehow misunderstood the likely sponsorship for Vitaly. The situation is likely to remain as full of doubt and rumor as the questions about the viability of USF1 and Campos. If Petrov’s money troubles continue, the next question is who will replace him at Renault?
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SATO!!!!!!!!
McCale, don’t make us ban you! :)
sorry, what i meant to say was……. VILLENUEVE!!!!
Todd… we have an issue over here. :)
hey now, don’t make me start taking over the front page with pro-Villeneuve stuff ;-)
If Renault wants 15 million from his replacement as well, I don’t see any driver being able to come up with those kind of funds.
I think this whole season will be a wake up to F1/FIA that they need to look at some serious cost cutting plans to get the costs down.
Has there been any more talk of that budget cap F1 is working under in secret this year? Saw a post on here about a month back about it, but never heard any confirmation of it from FIA/F1.
nothing wrong with wanting to race in f1,but you do not break your family to do it,15 million dollars,it is just mind blowing the money it takes to get a seat,if someone else pays foe it though thats good,f1 is getting to exspensive for it’s own good
Interesting…
Could the St. Petersburg bank be state-owned Putin-favourite Sberbank as was previously rumoured? Its HQ is actually in Moscow, but it’s always been heavily involved in St Petersburg (in public and private sector lending/investment), as a gateway to Eastern European subsidiaries. (Also, how generous is the mortgage offer compared to the property?)
If that is the case, then Vitaly should be in good shape, and this is a gentle reminder to Moscow not to forget their boy. A competitive Renault would no doubt help grease the wheels…
Who’s running the show, Genii or Renault? It may not matter what Renault thought or thinks if it’s Genii’s decision now.
He was just signed the other day. And he’s too talented on paper for a new owner to drop.
Perhaps they should paint the new Renault pink…. for the embarassment… wasn’t this a Lopez deal?…
And hasn’t everyone been saying that Gerard is a great find for F1… or was that some type of in joke?….
If this deal goes south then only one person will be smiling and that’ll be he of the orange perma-tan…. the dreaded Flav will be rolling on the floor with amusement…
Just to help a little with the information here, Petrov said in an interview right after he got the job that the money weren’t from Russian companies but from his father and that he couldn’t find money from those companies, so NO there was no misunderstanding on the Petrov side about his sponsorship.
I do wonder what kind of house gets a mortgaged of 7.5 million. I assume his father has money in other places also because it’s hard to imagine him risking all his fortune on a cable like F1.
Anyway there is also the matter of psychology here. Petrov may not feel good in a team that asks all the time when they are gonna get the money, influencing his performance. Or he may not be the kind of driver that does well under such pressure and needs a more calm environment. Because having your fathers fortune on your shoulders while driving could very well put a lot of weight on the car.
Many drivers have been supported from their families with huge money, and many lose their family fortune.. some years ago Pantano get the Jordan with 2 millions euros from his father, who wasn’t rich, and he’s still trying to recover his money. I remember Lauda, Boutsen starting their career doing bank mortgages..
it’s a risky way of doing but now it’s impossible racing without huge money, and every driver pays his career from the start till they get f1..
15 millions are much but if Senna pays 5-10 millions for a campos, or lopez pays 5-6 millions euros for a usf1, a renault has to cost more..
The article doesn’t say he “mortgaged the house”. Petrov’s father is trying to secure 7.5 million euros using personal assets. It could be anything – from a 21 speed mountain bike to a personal submarine.
“While the article feels quite credible, it is important to note that we’ve never heard of this paper before and it holds hints of tabloid style” – SovSport is very old Soviet and now Russian paper. It was established in 1924.
Thanks for that update on the paper! I really appreciate you letting us know so we have a better idea of where the information is coming from….I always hate seeing an article from a newsource in another country and being unsure how those who read it daily see the paper and its public image.
and, I’m sorry that I may have misspoke, but to me, seeing “To do this, I had to lay the property” indicates that either the family home or property thereon or both had to be mortgaged for the 7.5 million euros.
Vmr, I did not mean to pick on you. Just want to clarify things that obviously were little misleading by automated google translation. So I was correcting google.
They use the word “ee-moos-shes-tvo”, which means property, belongings, stock, assets and can include the house as well since it is considered part of the family asset. But the word is not used exclusively to describe house as an asset. It has broader meaning then the word “property” in our lexicon. Hence I told that he meant “assets”.
Couple interesting facts from this article. In the article they are saying that Finns offered to cover the expenses, but they required Vitaly accept Finnish citizenship and race under the Finnish flag. From the age 16 to 25 they spent around 20 million dollars on Vitaly’s career.
SovSport paper was primary and credible source of sport news in the entire USSR. Cannot guaranty that they are still credible since I don’t read that paper daily. But from what I’ve read what they write now compare to the US media, they are pretty much on target. Obviously they do exercise their own opinion since the paper is based on a different culture or politics and thus have different perspective on certain things. One of my friends writes for the paper about Atlanta Thrashers. In our conversations he never complained that they asked him to write something that is not true.
By the way, I just read that Vitaly Petrov’s management has denied reports that the deal with Renault could be set to collapse:
“The driver’s management denies all rumors, which were due to a misunderstanding in an interview with the driver’s father,”
“We would like to inform you that the Renault F1 Team and Vitaly Petrov’s management have reached full agreement and have signed a binding contract for 2010”
“Vitaly will drive for the team in all 19 Grands Prix counting for this year’s FIA formula one world championship”
Doesn’t mean his father did not tell the truth. Most likely his father did not think about the consequences of his words in the “big sport”. Reminds me about the time when Coca-Cola opened their first plant in USSR after the decade monopoly of the Pepsi on their market. During opening ceremony Gorbachev had an honor to be the first one to try it. After he finished drinking it he said:” Great drink! Tastes just like Pepsi!” He did not mean to endorse Pepsi, he just told the truth how he felt. Coca-Cola’s management had heart attack that day.
thanks, but you don’t have to worry. I didn’t think you were picking on me :-)
and, I really do appreciate your help with the Russian translation. Google is helpful, but not great, particularly when it comes to nuances.
I’ve been seeing the denials from Petrov’s management and agree that his father probably was talking to the reporter and simply didn’t fully think about what he was saying before he said it, in relation to how it would be seen.
For me, this is more about the pervasive issues with money in F1, that he had to have the 15 million euros to race for Renault, that we’re hearing about Campos being unable to pay Dallara, that everywhere we turn the sport is (somewhat) becoming less about the racing and more about the money someone can bring to a team or company.
and, that’s great news that the bank is giving the money.
Let’s just hope that his dream to be in F1 won’t collapse the same way it did for Bourdais. If he won’t keep with the pace of Kubica and his father will run out of things he can bring to a pawn shop, I don’t think will see him next season.
And without spending cap I afraid that in the future F1 will look more like MS, JV, Fernando, Rubens, Hamilton, Nico and maybe Ralf racing in their sixties.
http://spb.kp.ru/online/news/615473/
Here is the article where his manager says that “information is incorrect. He will race all 19 races. Yes, they have financial difficulties, but they are hoping to resolve them. Right now they are thinking about opening Vitaly Petrov’s foundation.”
Also in the same article they say that his father just announced that the loan was just approved and he will start wiring money to fund first half of the agreement.