According to the BBC website the Renault team will race on in Formula 1 next year after a deal was struck to secure its future.

A formal announcement is expected next week with Renault keeping a minority 25% shareholding. The team are set to be notified at their headquarters today.

It has also been agreed that the team will race as Renault in 2010.

The two front-runners in the battle to take over the team were Luxembourg businessman Gerard Lopez, considered to be the favourite, and David Richards, the boss of the British motor racing engineering firm Prodrive and former team principal of Benetton and BAR in F1.