{"id":609864,"date":"2020-01-02T11:31:17","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T11:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/opinion\/cyril-abiteboul-no-team-is-as-focused-on-2021-as-renault"},"modified":"2020-01-13T23:49:33","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T23:49:33","slug":"cyril-abiteboul-no-team-focused-2021-renault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/opinions\/cyril-abiteboul-no-team-focused-2021-renault\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyril Abiteboul: No team is as focused on 2021 as Renault"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cyril Abiteboul is adamant he has no intention of stepping down as team principal of the Renault<\/a> Formula One team.<\/p>\n

Despite Abiteboul conceding to “issues this year” and saying that he is\u00a0“not proud of the results”, he is defiant when it comes to his own position and his unshakeable belief Renault will again be winners.<\/p>\n

The statistics are obviously damning as it is four years now since Renault returned to F1 as a constructor, yet in 83 grands prix over that time they have failed to score a single podium or pole position.<\/p>\n

And from the upward trend of last season’s fourth position in the constructors’ championship, Renault embarrassingly finished fifth this past year behind engine customer McLaren<\/a>, 31 points shy of their total of a year ago.<\/p>\n

“I’m extremely emotional, I take things seriously”<\/blockquote>\n

There were many contributing factors, primarily the over-sensitivity of the RS19, along with a much-hyped but failed upgrade of the car at the French Grand Prix, and a month-long wind tunnel shutdown in the middle of the season.<\/p>\n

The recruitment of Daniel Ricciardo<\/a> at the start of the year was at least a positive step, and a vital one in Abiteboul’s eyes given his seemingly invaluable contribution over the past 11 months.<\/p>\n

“Moving from P9 (in 2016) to P4 (in 2018) was fantastic, but maybe to a certain extent, it flattered us,” said Abiteboul.<\/p>\n

“The good performance of last year hid some intrinsic weaknesses that we only witnessed this year with a great driver, in Daniel, and with all the pressure that comes in having such a driver. It’s something we only corrected late this year.<\/p>\n

“Daniel has been great at showing the remaining weaknesses we had, and that’s put us in a situation where we’ve nowhere to hide, and to make the changes that needed to be done.<\/p>\n

“This year has certainly exposed what still needs to be addressed in our package.”<\/p>\n

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McLaren beat Renault to fourth place in 2019<\/p>\n

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The aerodynamic issues, in particular, and the deficiencies of the upgrade package have resulted in a restructuring of the technical department, leading to the appointments of Dirk de Beer, as head of aerodynamics, and Pat Fry, while stalwart Nick Chester has left his role as head of chassis.<\/p>\n

Attempting to oversee Renault’s resurgence has taken its toll personally, according to Abiteboul, and has left him vulnerable on occasion<\/p>\n

“Formula One is a tough sport, where you can’t hide as a team principal,” said Abiteboul.<\/p>\n

“I’ve grown up, but I also need to keep improving my own package. It’s like everyone.<\/p>\n

“I’m a bit Latin, I’m not just French. I’m from the southern part of France. I’m extremely emotional, I take things seriously.<\/p>\n

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