Renault appears set to land a significant financial incentive "by being declared an historic team should it decide to again become a works marque in Formula 1," according to Ian Parkes of AUTOSPORT. Discussions as to Renault's future direction in F1 "remain ongoing, with the French manufacturer looking at whether to quit altogether at the end of 2016, continue as an engine supplier or return to the grid as a full manufacturer entry." The final option, via a buy-out of Lotus, "is being evaluated in depth, with one of the conditions being Renault joins Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull and Williams in receiving additional revenues from Formula One Management." At present FOM distributes 65% of underlying revenues among the qualifying teams, with 15% of that "going to the five aforementioned teams in the form of a premium payment." By virtue of its history in F1, its execs believe that "it is also deserving of a premium payment." Asked if Renault would be considered a historic team, F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone replied, "Yes. If they take over Lotus and do exactly what Mercedes and Red Bull did, that would be it, so yeah, sure." It is understood that for Renault to receive the premium payment, "unanimity from all the other teams is required." Ecclestone, however, has suggested otherwise, adding, "If they [Renault] do what they have to do to be in line with those people I don't think we would need anybody to agree. I think we could deal with it easily enough" (AUTOSPORT, 7/22).
