Renault has confirmed that it will continued to run and fund the Formula Renault 3.5 championship, which sits alongside GP2 a rung below Formula One.

The championship forms part of the World Series by Renault, which attracted 51,000 people for its Nurburgring event last weekend. It will continue for at least two more years.

Commercial contracts with key series suppliers, thought to include tyre partner Michelin and fuel supplier Elf, have reportedly been signed to cover the next three seasons.

Renault Sport, which has funded the series since replacing Nissan in 2005, has also introduced cost reductions for the 2015 season, which aim to reduce teams budgets by around 15 to 20 per cent. The current Formula 3.5 car will be used for at least two more seasons.

Renault to title sponsor Prost’s Formula E squad”The motor racing economic context is difficult", said Patrice Ratti, the president of Renault Sport Technologies. “At the beginning of the season we created a working group with the Formula Renault teams.

"Together we have decided to prolong the current version of the Formula Renault 3.5 for two seasons and have renewed our contracts with our major partners for several years. We have also decided on a large number of competitiveness improvements, either by cost reduction of replacement parts, or by extending the life span thanks to the in-depth work of our engineers and technical partners.

There are three events left on the 2014 World Series calendar, in Hungary, France and Spain. 2014 McLaren Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen won last year's title, while Spain's Carlos Sainz Jr., who is part of Red Bull's young driver programme, leads this year's title race, ahead of an expected promotion to Formula One next season.