There has been much criticism and scepticism from other teams since the Renault Sport Formula 1 Team signed former FIA technical director Marcin Budkowski to its books, but Cyril Abiteboul has rejected claims that they have only signed him for his knowledge of other cars.
Renault has agreed to delay Budkowski’s involvement in chassis development until 1 April, after the start of the 2018 Formula 1 season, and Abiteboul says he has been brought due to aid the progression of the Enstone-based team as they continue to strive to return to the front of the field.
The main concerns of Renault’s rivals was that Budkowski’s role at the FIA allowed him to check over the designs of developments and see if they were eligible and legal, but Abiteboul says they are not interested in what other teams are developing.
“I can understand the scepticism of the teams, but we are not recruiting someone of the calibre of Marcin in a position of executive director just for what he knows of the other teams,” said Abiteboul to Motorsport.com.
“We are recruiting him for his capabilities, his experience, his skills. He’s someone coming with a fantastic CV, outside of Formula 1 also, and he’s a perfect fit for building the next stage of Renault in Formula 1.
“We are not interested in the secrets about the other cars, and I think a good demonstration is the fact we have accepted basically to keep him in isolation from any chassis development until April.
“The situation is he will actually be under our payroll from January onwards, but not involved in any Formula 1 chassis development. He will be involved in non-F1 work, focusing on the number of other racing activities we are doing.
“I need him also to understand the wider Renault organisation. There is an acclimatisation process before he can focus on the chassis development and operational activity he will be doing in Enstone from April onwards.”
