Cyril Abiteboul feels that the results seen on track by the Renault Sport F1 team don’t do the team justice as they continue their development work behind the scenes, even if that the main focus is not on this years RS16.
The managing director of Renault feels the struggles the team go through in 2016 will benefit them in the long run as they work out their 2017 machine that will undergo many changes due to new technical regulations.
Despite this, Abiteboul reveals some development work will still be performed for this year’s machine, with the recent in-season test at Silverstone being used to test some new aerodynamic and suspension parts, although he still expects a difficult weekend at the Hungaroring.
“We are steadily building the team and recruiting more people and our rate of development is high,” said Abiteboul. “We saw this during the Silverstone test when we trialled some new aero and suspension parts that we hope will bring some added performance to the car.
“Our focus, however, remains our mid and long-term goals and we continue to put a lot of effort into this. That’s not to say that 2016 isn’t important as a significant amount of resources are still going into racing this year. The results are not necessarily impressive, but we are learning lessons all the time that will serve us well in the future.
“We look forward to Budapest, but know that the challenge will be big. Slow, twisty circuits don’t necessarily suit us well, but – as I said before – every lesson learnt, however harsh, gives us information for the future.”
