Teams could cheat on engine parts if they wanted to, claims Abiteboul

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has called for standardisation of power units in order to allay fears of team manipulation, adding that the current regulations are such that teams - if they wanted to - could find ways to get around them and gain an advantage.

Abiteboul has said that Renault are at the forefront of recommending changes to the FIA, believing that it is in the interests of everyone, including the teams, to simplify the units and increase team confidence that everything is above board.

There has been speculation regarding Ferrari's hybrid unit across this season, and Abiteboul told Motorsport that he wants to put these conversations to bed.

He said: "I don’t want to create a debate here, but I think we need to think how we can help the FIA, regarding the enforceability of the regulations.

“I really believe that the complexity of the engine is such that I would not want to have myself to police it. So, I think we need to figure that out.

"I really believe that some elements of standardisation are not just useful but absolutely necessary if we want to retain some confidence between all the participants.”

Abiteboul added that it is clear that Renault would know exactly what to do if they wanted to gain an advantage over the rest of the paddock, and though he doesn't believe anyone is cheating at the moment, he wants to eliminate the element of doubt.

He stated: "I think that, frankly, if we wanted to cheat on the current engine, we would know how to do it, and that’s an issue. We are a very large corporation and we would never do such a thing like that, we can’t afford the reputational risk.

“I’m not saying that anyone is cheating, but I think it’d be good to get rid of all the speculation, by doing some local and targeted standardisation, and we’ve put forward some proposals in relation to that.”