Renault records highest costs in F1 history

Flavio gets a hefty $1.5M salary

(GMM) Formula one team Renault's costs last year were the highest in the history of the sport, according to the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Compiled after Renault filed its most recent accounts, the report said the $17m (USD) losses were more than double those of 2007, while the costs of nearly $260m represent a 38 per cent increase.

The result runs contrary to the belief that Renault is a modest-spending F1 team, with the record costs requiring its French parent to increase rather than decrease its spend.

Renault Group struggled markedly in 2008 while losing nearly $3 billion in net income and announcing mass job losses.

But at the same time its UK-based formula one team added 17 staff, and boss Flavio Briatore's $1.5m fee slightly increased.