Briatore: “Renault must rebuild everything”

Renault has finally put an end to the wait for his return to F1. Le Losange will be present on the 2016 starting grid as a team in its own right, after formalizing his takeover of Lotus F1 Team.

An operation which will not be the easiest according to Flavio Briatore, former Renault Team Principal, who told the Journal of Sport His point of view. “Renault must rebuild everything, including the technical team. enstone lost several great engineers just like Viry Chatillon. It won't be easy. »

The Italian also believes that the presence of Renault must be accompanied by solid performances given the current situation of the discipline. “F1 is in a complicated period, and needs a very strong Renault team before the end of the three years (reference made to Carlos Ghosn's sentence which indicated that the brand would need three years to become competitive) ? If they want to win, they will also have to change the drivers. »

If Matthew Carter, executive director of Lotus, indicated that Renault should keep Pastor Maldonado and Jolyon Palmer, confirmed for 2016 by the Enstone team before the takeover, Carlos Ghosn's statements indicating that everything would be explained about the organization of the team in January, including the drivers, leaves doubt.

Find our decryption of Renault's return to F1, in issue 2041 of AUTOhebdo, already available in digital version and on newsstands.