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Abiteboul: Changing tracks better for F1 than changing regulations

Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul says tweaking the sport's tracks would prove less costly and better for the show than "over-engineering" the technical regulations.

A season hardly goes by in F1 without a rule change forced upon teams, but Abiteboul suggests more focus should be put on the various venues' layouts.

The Frenchman is keen on teams applying their resources to help F1 tracks revise a few corners in order to produce better racing.

"One thing I think we need to do a bit more is engineer the tracks," the Renault boss told Motorsport.com.

"I would prefer a bit less over-engineering of the technical regulations, and a bit more engineering of the track layout, rather than investing into 20 cars that should be different every year.

"I would maybe change one or two corners, at each track. it would be much more cost efficient, and much better for the sport.

"I know that they have put a lot of engineering effort into Vietnam. But it's something where we could all collectively think what would be good for F1?"

Indeed, Craig Wilson, F1's head of vehicle performance who worked for F1 teams, including Brawn and Williams, has been heavily involved in the design work of the future Vietnam Grand Prix circuit.

Earlier this year, following a processional French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, many were those in the paddock - including Abiteboul - who believed a few alterations to the track would have been enough to spice up the show.

"There was some tough criticism after the race, because it turned into a procession. We tried to make it a bit interesting towards the end and were penalised for that!

"So, what we've done is some simulations of alternative configurations of how to make it more interesting.

"I would like to see more getting together from the teams in engineering some solutions and some improvements for the tracks.

"If 10 teams were to collaborate on improving tracks, I'm sure we could come up with some fantastic results, and we don't need to wait for 2021 for that. That would be next year already."

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Michael Delaney

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