Cyril Abiteboul: “Be bold about performance”

Three years to see, and then win. This was the credo of Renault F1 Team at the time of his official return as a constructor in 2016, from the ashes of Lotus F1 Team.

2019 must therefore mark a new stage in the return to the forefront of the Losange, which must however face a top 3 Mercedes - Ferrari - Red Bull, evolving at a much higher level currently.

Renault, which revealed its RS 19 this Tuesday, is counting on its internal organization, which has been greatly strengthened in recent years, in order to provide the expected excess performance. The engine flap will thus be particularly scrutinized.

“There are big changes, comments Cyril Abiteboul, director of Renault Sport Racing. I'm not going to start the war of numbers (the block is announced with a power of more than 950 hp). We will have the concept introduced at the end of the season at Red Bull, which made it possible to validate things, and which we are pushing much further.

We need to reassure ourselves and have confidence in ourselves. We are no longer a small team, but we are not yet among the biggest. There are still several hundred people we would miss if we wanted to compare ourselves with them.

We have enough resources, it's not a question of numbers. It is above all how to have a kind of synergy together.

We are talking about a capped budget around 2021, so we are not going to go further than today (in terms of number of people) to make it through the next two years. But it takes extra soul, motivation and determination.

To move forward quickly in development, you must have self-confidence. It costs so much to develop an engine. If we don't have confidence in our cylinder head, for example, we develop an A, then a B, a C... We can no longer get by, because it requires us to draw things before having demonstrated that it works.

In addition to simulation, self-confidence is important because it allows you to make choices earlier, without committing considerable sums of money, and therefore to move faster. It's very concrete. Even in the cold world of F1 and engine manufacturers. Success dynamics can drive successes. »

Asked about the choice between reliability and performance, the French manager seems to have selected an offensive tactic. “We are not going to assume the worst, but we want to be bold on performance. But I don't want to suggest that this will be done to the detriment of reliability. »

Ricciardo in factor X?

The big news for Renault F1 Team this year, however, remains the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo within the French team. A recruitment that puts a little more pressure on the Losange.

“Daniel brings great responsibility, pride, motivation, proclaims Cyril Abiteboul. Over the past three years, we have brought together a lot of ingredients, people, resources, and made a lot of investments.

It's like in a combustion engine at one point, you need the spark to ignite the mixture, and I think the ingredients are there, and we need someone to set the fire. That's a bit of what we expect from Daniel, in addition to his talent, his speed, his seriousness, his charisma, and his ability to pull the team to the top. What Nico could do too.

I feel this determination in the team. There is pressure. Since 2014, we have been behind and I believe that now there are sufficient resources and skills to Viruses to be at the highest level. If I put this pressure there, it is because it seems justified to me, and because it is not likely to compromise the current organization.

It is because I think that we have the means to reach the highest level that I am asking this. »