MAY 6, 2020

Other teams more exposed to corona threat says Abiteboul

Renault could be 'exposed' by the corona crisis and need to review its commitment, team boss Cyril Abiteboul has suggested.

Renault could be 'exposed' by the corona crisis and need to review its commitment, team boss Cyril Abiteboul has suggested.

But the Frenchman is not jumping to any conclusions yet, insisting that Renault is "part of a sport with a lot of value and strength".

He told France's Auto Hebdo that the crisis is also "an opportunity" for Formula 1 to adjust.

"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," said Abiteboul.

"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," he added.

But Abiteboul warned that if the top teams remain entrenched and out of reach at the top of the grid, that could be a reason for Renault to rethink.

"If we were to find ourselves in a two-speed F1 definitively, then we could reconsider our position," he said.

"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."

However, Abiteboul pointed out that the delayed 2021 rules means that Renault's roadmap towards the front will also need to wait another whole year.

"The targets we imagined for 2021 are de-facto postponed by a year, which I think everyone can understand," he said.

"That does not mean that we will not try to do a good job on the track next year, and when I see the pace of development we had until Melbourne, we can say that we are able to produce a completely decent car.

"So we can continue to display a correct level of performance and fight at the front of the middle of the grid. This will be the objective for 2021 before projecting fully into 2022."

(GMM)