Abiteboul: 'Renault must be in a position to win at a reasonable cost'

Renault's Cyril Abiteboul says F1's current level of spending isn't sustainable, insisting that future expenditures will have to come down for the manufacturer to remain committed to the sport.

Liberty Media, F1's commercial rights owner, is still in the process of devising a budget cap and a more equitable prize money distribution scheme for the teams, with a new agreement set to be introduced in 2021, along with an overhaul of the technical regulations.

Grand Prix racing's three unassailable front-running teams - Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull - have lavishly outspent their rivals over the years and consolidated their dominant position in the sport.

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The future commercial package, destined to replace the current Concorde Agreement, is therefore central to the idea of achieving a more level playing field in F1 by limiting costs.

"I don’t want to be moaning about the situation, because when we joined Formula 1 we knew the situation," Abiteboul said, as quoted by Racer.

"What’s quite remarkable is the arms race and the relentless spend in order to win — which I fully respect and I think it has afforded a great racing season this year, so we just need to see how we can emulate at some point.

"At some point there will be a different deal on money distribution. At some point there will have to be a limitation of spend because in our opinion it’s just not sustainable and I believe — correct me if I’m wrong — but I believe this is a shared feeling from everyone."

Achieving a consensus among the teams over cost cutting will require a massive effort from all involved parties, and indeed negotiations are ongoing.

While 2021 is seen as a de facto target for the introduction of a budget cap, Abiteboul gives more weight to the terms of an agreement rather than to when it shall be implemented.

"So then it’s just a timing issue," he adds. "If the plan is delayed by one year then it’s delayed by one year but I think what matters is the principle that we must be in a position to win races at reasonable cost, given the value of Formula 1.

"This is the equation that we want… returning to reality in the next few months."

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