Abiteboul: "Some teams are under a lot more pressure than we are"

The coronavirus pandemic has its effect everywhere, including in Formula 1. Some teams are under pressure, as their budget is not enough to cover a long period without races. For factory teams this is more manageable, as Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul agrees.

Under pressure

Renault regularly emerges in speculative atmospheres as a team that may leave Formula 1. According to Abiteboul, conclusions should not be drawn too quickly, because Renault is "a part of the sport with a lot of value and power". That's what the Renault team boss says in conversation with the French Auto Hebdo.

"It is not a one-year postponement that will make us review our position, even if the scope of the crisis, which we do not yet know, could force us to do so. If we reach this stage, we will not be the only ones in this scenario. Some teams, without naming them, are more exposed than us."

New regulations

From 2022, the new rules will come into force with the aim of bringing the teams closer together. This will create new opportunities for Renault, but also for other teams. This is one of the things that will give Renault some strength. "But the combination of spending limits, revamped technical regulations and new Concorde Agreements leads us to believe that we have the means to get back into the lead if we do a good job."

"The targets we imagined for 2021 are de-facto postponed by a year, which I think everyone can understand. That does not mean that we will not try to do a good job on the track next year and fight at the front of the middle of the grid. This will be the objective for 2021 before projecting fully into 2022," which Abiteboul indicates that they want to take that starting point to 2022 and also forms the basis for any decision on the future of the team.