F1 News
Cyril Abiteboul struggles “to live with the fact” that Renault lose every weekend
- Bevan Youl
Renault Formula 1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul has said that it is a “struggle to live with the fact” that the French team are losing every weekend not finishing at the front of the grid and would only consider leaving the sport when they start winning.
Renault returned to F1 as a works team back in 2016 with a five-year plan of a return to the front of the grid.
They moved from finishing ninth in the championship on eight points that year to finishing fourth in 2018 on 122 points but failed to make any further steps forward in 2019 as they struggled throughout the season and fell behind McLaren.
But Abiteboul admits it is difficult to see his team not up competing with the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.
“Formula 1 is a tough sport, where you can’t hide as a team principal,” he told Motorsport Magazine.
“I’ve grown up, but I also need to keep improving my own package. It’s like everyone.
“I’m a bit Latin, I’m not just French. I’m from the southern part of France and I’m extremely emotional, I take things seriously.
“I love racing but I struggle to live with the fact we are losing every weekend, and that’s a fact. Even though we are progressing, we are losing every single weekend. Number two is the first of the losers.
“It’s a change for me. I need to learn to lose, but I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that I want to win, and that appetite for winning is still growing with these years of not winning.”
The Frenchman added that he won’t consider leaving his position with the team until they achieve their goal of winning world championships again.
“I’ll do that when I win. That’s the challenge, a question mark,” he said.
“Every single year that goes by we are getting stronger. Even this year we are stronger this year for finishing P5 than we were last year in finishing P4. I’ve no doubt about that, and that’s what matters.
“Every year we are stronger brings us closer to the ultimate goal, which is to win, which is my individual goal. Whether I make it happen or not is another story.
“But I can tell you that right now I’m not close to retiring unless I feel it’s not possible, or unless we have achieved it, and I am confident that one day this team will win. We’ve done it before, and we will do it again.”