Is Alonso the ‘big name’ Renault wants for 2021?
Renault Formula 1 boss Cyril Abiteboul has said that the French manufacturer is talking to “big names” as it seeks to fill the seat that will be vacated by Daniel Ricciardo at the end of 2020.
Former world champions Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have both been linked with the team since it was confirmed that Ricciardo will move to Mclaren next year to replace Carlos Sainz Jr, who is off to Ferrari. At last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Renault driver Esteban Ocon said he would welcome Alonso as a team-mate in 2021.
Asked at the Red Bull Ring whether Vettel and Alonso were of interest to Renault, Abiteboul declined to comment on specifics, but did outline what the team wants from any signing.
“We need first a driver for each car,” he said. “We need a quick driver, and we need a driver that can understand and buy into Renault’s project. We are very clear about the nature of our team. We are a bit of a unique team in the F1 landscape, but at the same time also a young team, still in the making, with some struggles – in particular last year.
“So we need someone who’s capable to understand all of that, and understand the value of all the work, effort and ethics we are putting into that. I’m not saying that Daniel has not understood that, that’s absolutely not what I mean. I’m talking about the future. So we are talking to a few names, some big names, some lesser known names. We are taking the time, making sure there is a good alignment between what we are and what a driver is looking to get in a team like ours.”
Abiteboul declined to put any deadline on the driver decision.
If Renault were to look internally to replace Ricciardo, it could turn to its junior ranks, with Formula 2 drivers Guanyu Zhou and Christian Lundgaard already impressing last weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
Chinese driver Zhou qualified on pole position and was leading the F2 feature race prior to gearbox problems. Dane Lundgaard scored a fourth and a fifth on his F2 debut.
Alonso also scoffed at rumours that he would be replacing Ricciardo imminently at Renault for the remainder of the 2020 season, something the team described as ‘nonsense’.
His only confirmed race outing this year – should he actually qualify this time – is his assault on the Indianapolis 500 on 23 August. Alonso will join the Chevrolet-powered Arrow Mclaren SP team alongside the squad’s full-time rookie Indycar duo of Oliver Askew and Pato O’ward.