London, Sep 4: Renault have appointed Bernard Rey as president of their Formula One team in place of the departing Alain Dassas.

Dassas, who presided over the team's second successive double world championship success last season, was named earlier as chief financial officer of Nissan.

Rey is currently senior vice president in the Renault CEO office and takes over at the Formula One team, run by Flavio Briatore, on September 17.

''The team is preparing to return to the highest level next season and is well-placed to do so in terms of personnel and resources,'' he said.

Renault are fourth in the constructors' championship with no hope of retaining the title. Neither Italian Giancarlo Fisichella nor Finland's Heikki Kovalainen have been on the podium this year.

The French carmaker announced in July a $50 million programme of long-term technology investment to help them fight back on the track.

Reuters
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