Renault ‘talking’ to potential F1 customers

(GMM) Renault is looking for another potential engine partner, boss Cyril Abiteboul has revealed.

At the end of the year, McLaren is ending its customer alliance with Renault and switching to Mercedes power – and Daniel Ricciardo is also switching camps.

But with Renault looking stronger in 2020 and now fully committed to the sport and rebranding as Alpine for 2021, Abiteboul told Auto Motor und Sport that customers may now look again at Renault.

“Formula 1 is full of surprises,” he said.

“We now have a very good plan for what we want in the future. Maybe that was what McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo were missing in working with us.

“Now that the group has made a clear commitment to Formula 1, I have the feeling that people are interested in talking to us again. Stability attracts potential partners,” Abiteboul added.

What the Frenchman is unhappy about, however, is the outcome of a technical dispute surrounding Racing Point.

The FIA has ruled that because that team buys year-old parts from Mercedes, it can upgrade for 2021 and those changes will not be counted in the limited ‘tokens’ of allowable changes.

“Racing Point can now change a lot more than we can for next year,” Abiteboul explained. “This is a clear advantage for customers who use the model of taking parts that are one year old.”