Renault boss: You need to walk before you can run
Renault boss: You need to walk before you can run
Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul has admitted that the French manufacturer were 'too aggressive' in their engine development attempts in a 2017 season when they were hurt by a number of reliability issues which resulted in various grid penalties for their customers.
Via Red Bull performances, Renault power won three races in the campaign but were vastly outperformed and out-powered by Mercedes and Ferrari over the course of the season.
Renault have recently signed a deal to produce engines for McLaren as well as Red Bull and their own works team for next season, so the pressure is on to perform.
Abiteboul is confident of Renault doing better this time round, but admitted mistakes were made in 2017.
"The first thing will be reliability because we've seen this season that you need to walk before you run," he said.
"I think on many occasions we've been too aggressive in the way that we were trying to bring performance and extra power to the engine too quickly because of the expectation of all customers including the yellow cars [the Renault works team].
"So I think we need to go step by step: first be reliable then accumulate as many miles as possible during the winter tests -- I think that's important for any chassis organisation. I understand, talking about Red Bull, that they changed their philosophy and are planning for the development of their car but if the engine is not reliable it's going to be useless.
"So we need to get that. And if we have that, I am extremely comfortable and confident that we have the sort of technological bricks to bring to the engine in order to make steps and to catch Mercedes."
Even though Renault will be providing engines for McLaren and Red Bull, their own works team still has lofty ambitions of their own and Abiteboul believes an exciting campaign of F1 racing lies ahead.
"It seems to me that, competing against these cars, that they have a great chassis, so I don't see why McLaren wouldn't have a great chassis again next year. I think it should be a strong package and as far as we are concerned, we hope and believe we will be racing against McLaren and so that should provide an interesting show.
"Whether it's part of the mix at the top or not will depend on what we do over the winter but I think it should be an interesting Formula One to watch."
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Newey Red Bull EXIT date revealed as F1 star confirmed at new team - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Verstappen takes F1 swipe at Hamilton and rivals with ruthless remark
- Yesterday 22:57
Marko defends Ricciardo in 'unbelievable' idiot claim
- Yesterday 21:57
Hamilton hints at sensational Newey arrival at Ferrari
- Yesterday 20:57
Suspended Red Bull employee 'grilled' as Horner saga given potential END DATE
- Yesterday 19:57
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
- Yesterday 18:58
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860