Abiteboul gives strong hint that Renault will stay in F1

The Formula 1 future of Renault has been in doubt for some time, partly as a result of the team's disappointing performance in 2019 as well as shockwaves from the ignominious exit of the group's former chief executive Carlos Ghosn.

But this week, Renault Sports Racing managing director Cyril Abiteboul indicated that the French manufacturer remained committed to the sport and that a formal confirmation would not be long in coming.

“I have every reason to believe that in principal we are in it for the long term," he told the Reuters news agency this week, at the team's official 2020 season launch event in Paris.

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The carmaker is having to seek big cost reductions across its entire business, of which the F1 team is just a small part. Renault is also reviewing its alliance with Japanese counterpart Nissan, with pressure to deliver cost savings and joint industrial projects.

It's why the new F1 budget cap to control spending that will come into effect in 2021 as part of a new commercial agreement between the teams, the FIA and Liberty Media is bound to be a key consideration in Renault's decision to stay or go.

“I have right now all the reasons to believe Renault will execute that contract as soon as its ready," Abiteboul stated confidently.

"frankly if you look at Formula 1 from a financial perspective, from a figures perspective, it’s a cost but also an asset and an investment.

"We will get a major improvement of our terms," he added.

Following Ghosn's departure, former Seat head Luca de Meo has since been named as the company’s next chief executive with finance chief Clotilde Delbos becoming deputy CEO. Both appointments meet with approval from Abiteboul.

“The single most important piece of information is the fact that Clotilde Delbos ... will remain as deputy," he said. "I know where we are, I know where Clotilde is.

“It means that there will be a continuity of the governance, a continuity also of the decisions," he explained. "Everything we are discussing to date with Mrs Delbos will be valid even once Luca de Meo has arrived."

Renault isn't the only team weighing up its future on the sport. Mercedes and Honda are also set for top-level management board decisions, while the billionaire owners of Red Bull and Haas have also cast doubt on their long-term plans in F1.

In the meantime, the uncertainty about Renault's future in F1 means that the team risks losing Daniel Ricciardo when his contract expires at the end of the current season.

“I think the main difficulty will be timing for obvious reasons,” Abiteboul said when asked about the team's prospects of holding on to the Australian beyond 2020.

“You want to have a quick decision regarding his future, but I think what we also need is a little bit of time to see how we are developing as a team, and how we are working together and what we are capable of delivering."

“We don’t have a high expectation about this year," conceded the team's non-executive director Alain Prost. "It’s a shame for Daniel, the second year with not a lot that is going to be better.

“I think it’s going to be more his perception of what we could do for 2021, and also being realistic about the offers he is going to have from other teams," he told Motorsport.com this week.

“He will decide by himself but we will talk very soon. We don’t have everything in our hands, that’s for sure.”

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