Prost: “Difficult to manage a team”

Renault, by selling his last shares in the stable of?enstone to Genii Capital (and, by extension, to Group Lotus, which will acquire a stake in the team), has put an end to its stable management activity F1. The Losange firm has become an engine manufacturer again while maintaining a role as technical partner with the new entity Lotus Renault GP, as well as Red Bull and Team Lotus.

Alain Prost, concerned by the future of French F1, understands this step back from the French manufacturer. “It's always a little more complicated because you have to manage a lot of things at the same time,” he explains to AUTOhebdo.fr. Owning a stable is stronger but it brings more responsibilities. »

Furthermore, the four-time World Champion believes that the lack of results is not easy to accept for a manufacturer involved in a team. “When you are only an engine manufacturer, you can always offload your responsibilities to the chassis, especially since the latter is more important in the performance of a Formula 1 car than the engine. There is always a little internal war between the chassis part and the engine part. Medianly, being a chassis and engine supplier is always more difficult when you lose. »

Therefore, Alain Prost believes that Renault's position is logical, while considering that the engine development planned for 2013 could be a good opportunity for an engine manufacturer. ?It?s true that it?s more complicated to have a team and that it?s easier to only be an engine manufacturer. Concerning the engine, there will be new rules in the future. For an engine manufacturer like Renault, this is a real “plus”. F1, in terms of technologies, will come closer and closer to what we are doing or what we are going to do in production automobiles, in particular the reduction in the size of the engines, which we calls for down-sizing, with turbocharged engines. This is a very positive side for Renault. »