Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul has deemed the 2020 Formula 1 season crucial to the French team that have been firmly entrenched in the midfield this past year when podiums were their stated goal before the season began in Melbourne.
Although missing its goal of getting closer to the top three teams this year, Abiteboul insists that Renault is making progress despite McLaren, their customers beating them in the championship.
"If you want to win in Formula 1 you must have the best drivers, the best chassis and the best engine," Abiteboul told Globo. "We are at the top with our drivers, even if Daniel [Ricciardo] took time to adjust to the team and car.
"But drivers were not our problem. The engine is no longer our problem, so by elimination, there is the chassis," explained the Frenchman.
Indeed, chassis boss Nick Chester has been ousted, as Renault looks ahead not just to 2020 but to the even more important start of the new rules in 2021. Already the focus is on the new era for the sport.
Abiteboul admitted, "Next year will be particularly critical for us. We are aware of the new technical regulations so let's start the development now. We will need to be balanced between the present and the work for 2021, which is a priority for us."
Of note is the fact that since the start of the hybrid era Renault power has only tasted victory on three occasions, with Red Bull in 2014 with Ricciardo the driver at the time. Meanwhile, Mercedes have racked up 88 victories during the same period.
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