Abiteboul pledges to address 'unacceptable' unreliability

Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul says that the company simply has to address its reliability issues.

Both Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg failed to finish the Mexican Grand Prix. And to add to Renault's woes, two more retirements - Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley - were related to the Renault power unit.

"The Mexican Grand Prix was particularly difficult with a number of unacceptable mechanical problems," Abiteboul said this week.

"We have the clear intention to take fast and strong measures," he continued. "The particularities of Mexico accentuated our weaknesses.

"The performance of our engine has progressed a lot this year as the results in the race attest," he pointed out. The one bright spot for Renault in Mexico had been Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen strolling to victory.

"Clearly we have not been successful in balancing performance and reliability," he admitted. "We now have to find reliability, for both us and our customers, even if Max won magnificently in Mexico."

Abiteboul warns against reviving engine 'arms race'

The team is currently in seventh place in the constructors championship. While they're only five points behind Toro Rosso, the gap to Williams is now 28 points.

"This season we set ourselves the goal of fifth in the constructors championship," Abiteboul acknowledged. "Whilst achieving this is still mathematically possible, it is now a tall order.

"There are now two Grands Prix remaining. We will do everything we can to be sixth at the end of the weekend."

"Interlagos is a legendary circuit that often makes for an unpredictable race in front of many excited fans," he continued. "The weather often plays an important role

"But come rain or shine, we are confident in the positive qualities of both our drivers and the R.S.17. The enthusiasm of the fans is always enjoyable to see and hear; in so many regards it is a very fine Grand Prix."

Beyond Brazil and then the season finale at Abu Dhabi at the end of the November, Abiteboul is looking forward to a strong future for Renault in 2018 and beyond.

"The team remains confident and united," he said. "[That's] essential to maintain progress to the end of the season, and also for our preparations for 2018.

"We have the means; our organisation is stable, robust and competent."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.