Starting engines from scratch in 2021 would be 'frightening' - Renault

Renault Formula One managing director Cyril Abiteboul has claimed that the prospect of having to start completely from scratch with a new engine for the 2021 season would be 'frightening' for his team, with new regulations set to be implemented by Liberty Media.

The American owners of the sport are set to alter engine regulations so that the parts are more standardised as well as adding a potential budget cap in an attempt to level the playing field among the constructor teams.

This decision has been criticised by some figures in F1, with Ferrari even threatening to leave the sport if a compromise cannot be reached.

When the time comes for the engine change, Abiteboul wants to avoid having to create an entirely new engine.

"We would like to avoid almost starting from scratch again," Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

"If I look at the investment that has been made in the engine, if I look at the time that it is taking to get to a situation where it is not a level playing field, but that the engine is not a handicap anymore for chassis people - because that is what you want: a disparity where a team is not prevented from winning races or doing a decent job by its engine partner - frankly starting from scratch again is quite frightening."

Abiteboul is more open to discussion than say Sergio Marchionne of Ferrari who has been quite adamant about the Scuderia not wanting widespread changes, but the Renault man says he needs to find a solution which is best for his team.

"I feel everyone is willing to have constructive dialogue and get very quickly to a solution," he continued.

"Having said that, we are not going to commit to a new engine without knowing what F1 will look like in 2021."