In times of Covid-19, Renault is patient (1/2)

Renault today finds itself in a situation similar to that of athletes who have been preparing for months to reach their peak form during the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer and who must now review their training program. The Losange was certainly not aiming for gold medals this season, but it had set in its sights these 2021 regulations which were to give birth next year to a Formula 1 new generation and reshuffle the cards of a hierarchy that has been immovable for too long.

The coronavirus pandemic has since passed this way. She led to thecancellation of the Australian Grand Prix at the last minute as well as the postponement of the start of the season indefinitely. Initially, all the teams had to hastily repatriate all the staff sent to the other side of the world so as not to do Formula 1, then place them in isolation. “Then everything accelerated, for us as for the rest of the French economy, tells us Cyril Abiteboul during a telephone interview. 

Gradually, the restrictions followed. We initially opted for teleworking, then implemented physical distancing measures at the factory when possible. Except that Formula 1 in the end is very manual work, almost craftsmanship. We quickly found ourselves quite limited in what we could do and the decisions resulted more or less interruption of our activities ».

It is in this context that the compulsory closure of the F1 factories, anticipated and extended, was unanimously adopted, as was the one-year postponement of the 2021 technical regulations. An awareness that the main Renault F1 team welcomes. “At the beginning, there was a certain form of denial, we had the impression that it was still far away and we wondered if it was really going to happen, and if we were going to be affected,” recalls Abiteboul, going back to before Melbourne. Obviously, no one now disputes the violence of the situation.

Upon returning from Australia, unanimity emerged quite quickly around the most obvious measures. Introducing a new regulation is expensive, especially when there is no budget ceiling yet. Furthermore, we are in a period of inactivity at the most crucial time in the development cycle of next year's car. It is in March-April that very important decisions are made to set the future car, including all questions of architecture and wheelbase.

However, if we are not able to test in the wind tunnel, it is impossible to make a decision and the entire “car” project is compromised. It’s the same thing for all the teams, hence the rapid consensus around the postponement of the 2021 regulations.” If this decision turns out to be logical, it nonetheless raises a host of additional questions, particularly around Renault's long-term commitment to Formula 1.

Cautious optimism

These questions are not new, we had already raised them ahead of the 2020 campaign after the publication of disappointing 2019 results for the Renault Group with a net loss of 141 million euros, a first in 10 years. Add to this the sporting downturn suffered by the teamenstone last year and the expiration of the current Concorde Agreements at the end of 2020, and therefore the possibility of leaving the sport without financial penalty, and you understand why Renault was at a crossroads even before the health and economic crisis we are experiencing.

While his counterparts believe that several teams could potentially fold due to the current paralysis, Abiteboul refuses to indulge in alarmism, at least with regard to the future of Renault.. “We are experiencing the situation with a mixture of expectation, anxiety about the health aspect, and concern about the economic consequences, but we are not dejected either because we are part of a sport that has a lot of value and from a group that has strong backs; It's a chance in these circumstances, explains the French manager. 

It is not a one-year postponement that will make us review our position, even if the scope of the crisis, which we ignore at the moment, could force us to do so. Afterwards, if we reach this stage, we will not be the only ones in this scenario. Certain stables, without naming them, are more exposed than us.”

Beyond the intensity and consequences of the coming economic shock, it is also and above all the capacity of Formula 1 to reinvent itself in depth that Renault is monitoring very carefully. “If we were to find ourselves definitively, at least very permanently, in a two-speed F1, then we could review our position, warns Abiteboul. The combination of the following 3 elements – spending caps, revised technical regulations, and new Concorde Agreements – leads us to believe that we have the means to catch up with the leading pack. Provided of course that we do a good job.

But I don't have proof that one is stupider than the others, whatever some critics and commentators may say. The “budget cap” will be introduced next year and this with a lower ceiling. We continue to look forward to the new Concorde Agreements from 2021. There is only one component, the technical regulations, which is delayed. We do not decide the fate of a commitment to Formula 1, which in principle extends over ten years, because there is a crisis of this type which leads to a postponement of one year.”

Encouraging words which are accompanied by a mechanically postponed roadmap. “The objectives that we imagined for 2021 are de facto postponed by one year, I think everyone can understand that, Abiteboul further affirms. That doesn't mean that we won't try to do a good job on the track next year, and when I see the pace of development that we had until Melbourne, we can say to ourselves that we are able to produce a completely decent car, despite what will have to be fixed in terms of aerodynamic development.

There is no major wolf on our car. We can continue to display a decent level of performance and fight at the front of the middle of the pack. This will be the objective for 2021 before planning fully for 2022.”

Part 2 to follow Wednesday May 6.