Renault F1 Team resolute to maintain strong momentum through 2019 F1 season campaign

JérômeStoll,President of Renault Sport Racing, also confirmed Renault’s ongoing commitmentto the sport. “At Renault, we arepassionate about motorsport. Our history in F1 has continued unbroken for morethan 40 years. Formula 1 is a show, a spectacle, pure entertainment, but it isalso the highest level in motorsport. A passion for Formula 1 is a metaphor forfighting spirit, determination, resilience but also progress thanks to thelimitless innovation that inspires the sport. But this passion has to betempered with a healthy dose of reality. F1 makes sense for Renault; it is alaboratory for our future road going technology – as seen by the new enginedesignation – Renault E-Tech 19. It is a very exciting time to be part of F1.”

Sinceits F1 comeback three years ago, Renault has invested heavily across itstechnical facilities in Enstone, UK, and Viry-Châtillon, France. At Enstone,the team has significantly increased production capabilities, with upgradedmachine tools, including two new Breton machines, wind tunnel, gearbox dyno,enlarged design office and state-of-the-art race operations room. Its workforcehas also grown by around 50% since 2016. At Viry, a newly refurbished dyno hasjust been commissioned and will be used throughout the season to develop thepower unit, while an ambitious building programme to house new engine assemblybays, reliability departments and an automated stores department has recentlystarted, due for completion next year.

Witha solid foundation of technical and human resources in place, Renault F1 Teammanaging director, Cyril Abiteboul, outlined the team’s aim to keep thismomentum going into 2019: “Launching allthese projects while participating in the championship was an incrediblechallenge, as was getting the major points finished. The final commissioning ofthe investments was a tremendous achievement and I’m impressed by how everyonehas taken to the task. This shows in the momentum we have gathered: ninth in2016 with eight points, sixth in 2017 with 57 points and fourth last year with122 points. We go into this season aiming to keep this strong and measuredmomentum. We do not target x or y position or a number of points: what I wantto see is that the team continues its trajectory of progression towards the topteams. Engine excellency will be our priority in Viry while the structure nowin place in Enstone strives to improve the competitiveness of the chassis,season after season.”

Abiteboulalso explained the extra motivational factor of the new driver line-up. “The added momentum of the Daniel-Nico partnershipbrings confidence to the team this season. I believe we have one of thestrongest – if not the strongest – driver line-up on the grid. Daniel bringsproven race winning experience and knowledge of a top team, while Nico ishungry. He’s hugely underrated – he’s quick, determined and a team motivator.Individually they are very strong and I feel the two will complement each otherextremely perfectly. The energy they have brought to the team is very tangibleand I hope we can give them a car to show their considerable talent.”

NicoHülkenbergembarks on his third year of competition with the team in 2019. “As a team, we’ve developed a lot since thestart of 2017 and that’s all part of the process if we want to achieve ourlong-term targets. When I arrived, the infrastructure was still young, we’vecome a long way since then with a lot of progress. I want to extract the bestfrom myself and maximise the potential from the team and the car. The importantthing is, as a team, we take a good leap forward and perform betterconsistently. We want the trend to continue upwards and keep the developmentscoming.”

AustralianDaniel Ricciardo, a seven-time Grand Prix winner, joins Renault F1 Teamfor his first season in yellow. “Renaulthas a massive history in motorsport, so to be part of the next step of theirFormula 1 journey is an exciting challenge. I’m here to do a job on track anddrive as fast as possible, but I would like to bring the team energy. I want toput a spring in everyone’s step because that’s part of my job and also mycharacter. I aim to be able to get the team to work that extra bit harder, putin more effort and rally everyone together. I’d like to be a catalyst forpositive energy.”

Ricciardoaims for 2019 to be a fresh start: “EverythingI learnt in 2018 will make me a better version of myself in 2019. Thedifference will be a more mature person. I have more clarity of where I’m goingand I aim for that to be shown with good results on track. I feel a lot ofpositive pressure and expectation to do good things, but that’s something I’mlooking forward to taking on.”

Withnew facilities and new drivers bolstering confidence, 2019 promises to be aninteresting year on and off track.