Cyril Abiteboul said the sixth and seventh place finishes for Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. in the United States Grand Prix showed just what can be achieved by the Renault Sport Formula One Team if everybody within the team pulls together and focuses on their goals.
The team had scored just ten points in the previous five Grand Prix but came back fighting to finish as the best of the rest behind the leading three teams at the Circuit of the Americas, and it helped the team extend their advantage over the Haas F1 Team in their battle for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship to twenty-two points, while it also saw them break the one-hundred point barrier for the season.
Abiteboul, the team principal of Renault, says the positive result in Austin gives them confidence heading into the final three races of the season, starting this coming weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexican Grand Prix.
“Today showed us what can be achieved if we all pull together as a team,” said Abiteboul. “After a difficult weekend for all because of the track conditions we were able to show strong race pace with Nico and Carlos delivering exactly as desired.
“Today’s result puts us in a better championship position heading to the final three races of the season and it gives a lot of confidence to the team and our drivers.”
Abiteboul also took time to congratulate the Renault-powered Max Verstappen for his drive through the field to finish second in Sunday’s race, with the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver having started down in eighteenth only to climb through the field for the podium.
“Congratulations also to Max Verstappen and Red Bull for their second place, just 1.2 seconds away from the race win,” said Abiteboul.
