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Franck Montagny Expects Renault Decision Soon

With Timo Glock ready to ink a Formula One deal with Manor F1 for the 2010 season, Renault seem likely to switch to another driver for partnering Robert Kubica next season. Although replacing Romain Grosjean doesn't make much sense in our book, the French manufacturer seems to go for any driver in their attempt to field a completely new lineup next year.

Most recently, French driver Franck Montagny has been linked with a potential drive for Renault, as the former F1 and Champ Car driver confirmed discussions with the Enstone based officials through the past few months. However, he admitted nothing has been finalized and expects a decision by the end of the month.

The possibility is real, we have discussed it a lot of times. We will see how it is going to end. It's still a bit early,” said Montagny in an interview with Radio Canada, while also admitting that being in Renault's eyesight for the upcoming season was a surprise itself.

I did not particularly expect to be on that list, but surprises like that can happen,” added the French driver.

Montagny's only race time in Formula One happened through the 2006 season, when competing for Honda's customer team Super Aguri. The Frenchman did not have a great impact in the series – obviously, because of an underperforming car – and spent the following year testing for Toyota F1 team.

Last year, he decided to leave the testing/reserve role with Toyota and race in the North American Champ Car/Indy Car series, but poor sponsorship and the lack of a strong commitment with a team got him only one start in the whole season. The situation repeated in 2009. In parallel, Montagny did some outings in the American Le Mans Series and competed in the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours Race.
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