PARIS - Renault on Wednesday became the latest Formula One team to threaten not to take part in the 2010 World Championship unless the International Automobile Federation (FIA) changes its new rules.
"If the decisions announced by the World Council on April 29, 2009 are not changed, we would have no choice other than to pull out of the Formula One World Championship at the end of 2009," Renault F1 chief Flavio Briatore said in a communique.
"The decision of the Federation International de l'Automobile (FIA) to introduce two sets of Formula One technical regulations for the 2010 Formula One season has caused the Renault Group to reconsider its entry," Briatore added, demanding wider consultation.
Briatore spoke a day after Ferrari threatened to pull out of next season's championship for the same reason, the Prancing Horse insisting the team would not continue in F1 unless the FIA reverses a decision to set a budget cap of 40 million pounds (44.8 million euros) on teams' spending next season.
That statement sent shockwaves through the world of F1 as Ferrari is the only constructor to have taken part ever since the World Championship's inception in 1950.
Red Bull gave a similar ultimatum a couple of days earlier, and Toyota have also voiced opposition.