Renault expands, but can it move forward?
CONTINUING ITS UPWARD TRAJECTORY IS Renault’s focus for the 2018 Formula 1 campaign, according to managing director Cyril Abiteboul.
The French manufacturer returned as a works team in 2016, but the late completion of its takeover of Lotus meant its car was a compromise and it finished ninth in the constructors’ championship.
Last year was a distinct improvement, with the team improving dramatically as the season progressed. By the end of the year, it had the fourth fastest car on merit, which helped
Renault snatch sixth in the standings from
Toro Rosso at the final race in Abu Dhabi.
On Tuesday, Renault launched its 2018 challenger – the RS18 – with a target of improving across all areas as it bids to continue its move up the grid with a strong driver line-up of Nico Hulkenberg and team newcomer Carlos Sainz Jr.
“Our headline target is to show continued progression through results,” said Abiteboul.
“We want to be able to showcase our progression in every regard; power unit, chassis, operations, drivers. Everything must improve and we must continue to grow. We want to demonstrate this in many different ways, from the teams we will be directly racing against, to the gap to the leaders.”
Renault finished 2017 more than 300 points behind customer Red Bull, which won three races and scored 13 podiums to expose the substantial remaining deficit. With Mclaren also taking Renault power this year after choosing to ditch Honda, Abiteboul has picked the two out as the works team’s “benchmarks for performance this season”.
The power unit was Renault’s Achilles’ heel last year as it struggled with reliability, particularly with the MGU-K. But earlier this month, new customer Mclaren said messages from Renault were encouraging. “They seem to be very confident,” said Mclaren executive director Zak Brown. “In terms of power and reliability, they are happy with where they are at and what has been happening on the dyno. And specifically the reliability, they think they are on top of it.” Renault’s capacity to deliver engine gains will have a big impact on whether it can continue its climb of the F1 pecking order this season.
Behind the scenes, Renault has been redeveloping its Enstone facility while also recruiting heavily – including the controversial signing of EX-FIA F1 technical director Marcin Budkowski as executive director – as it looks to build an outfit capable of challenging the big three: Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
“Among several projects, we have acquired new machine tools, the composite department has moved forward a great deal, a paint-shop area was created, CFD facilities came on line and we have built new working environments to accommodate our burgeoning workforce,” said
Abiteboul. “We have recruited over 100 people in the past year, with some very respected names joining the ranks. More will join us over the coming months.”
Personnel numbers have swelled by more than 100 new staff to around 750. Growth is expected to continue this year, albeit at a reduced pace. But Abiteboul has said that Renault intends to beat top teams Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull to the world championship with “85% of their capability and resources”. He added: “It can’t be an arms race.”
Renault is treating its latest F1 return as a works team as a long-term project that is now in its third year, with Hulkenberg having said that he accepts it may need another two or three years to match world champion squad Mercedes in F1. “It’s a very time-consuming thing to get a team to the level that Red Bull and Mercedes are,” pointed out Hulkenberg. “The investment they make now in building and modernising the factory, the benefit we will get only in two to three years’ time – not until everything is up and running and we understand it. Look at Mercedes, how many years they were OK but not where they are now. Red Bull, the same.”
Renault’s current driver line-up is one of its big strengths. Hulkenberg joined from Force India, with chassis technical director Nick Chester saying that his speed and consistency have given the team a dependable reference. When Sainz joined from Toro Rosso with four races to go in 2017, replacing Jolyon Palmer, Chester added that the Spaniard multiplied that effect. Together, he said they have made a “massive difference”.
With Sergey Sirotkin moving to Williams to partner Lance Stroll in a race seat this year, Renault has announced that 2015 Formula Renault Eurocup champion Jack Aitken, who finished second to Mercedes protege George Russell in the GP3 Series last season and will race in Formula 2 this year, will take over as the third and reserve driver.
“Jack has been nurtured in the Renault Sport Academy, so we’ve seen his development over the past couple of years,” said Abiteboul. “It is clear he’s a talented young driver and he is ready for this opportunity. He has a full season ahead of him with racing in Formula 2 and fulfilling his Formula 1 commitments. He has the perfect environment to reach his targets and we are keen on seeing him in action.”
“The benefit of investment, we will only get in two years”