Abiteboul gets tired of questions about a possible departure Renault
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Over the past year the rumours about a possible departure of Renault from Formula 1 became stronger and stronger. Now that the corona crisis has hit both Formula 1 and car manufacturers hard, speculation has only increased. Cyril Abiteboul wonders if it's even worth it to deny this.
The Renault team boss has had to answer the same questions about the future of Renault in Formula 1 for months now, and he is getting a little tired of it by now. “I can deny it, but I am not sure that I will shut down these stories as they have been around forever”, said a frustrated Abiteboul to Autoweek.
These stories were fuelled by the disappointing results at the parent company in recent weeks. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, car sales collapsed and factories have been at a standstill for a long time. To get through the crisis, the company would consider relocating their factories to cheaper countries.
Will the F1 team fall victim to French politics?
The latter is something the French government strongly opposes, and since they own fifteen percent of the shares, they can say a lot about it. The French Minister of Finance has also threatened that a planned loan of 5.5 billion euros may not go ahead if Renault closes its factories in France.
So there will have to be cutbacks somewhere else and several media are suggesting that this could be with the Formula 1 team. However, compared to the operational costs of the factories, the F1 team is a small fish and the promotional value of the sport is much greater. That is why Abiteboul is still confident that his employer will remain active in Formula 1.