Renault F1 Team Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul could not have hoped for a better weekend than what he got in the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg were able to lock out the third row of the grid before converting their qualifying performances to trouble-free race results, with the Australian coming home fourth and the German behind him in fifth. This is the best result Renault have achieved since their takeover from Lotus at the beginning of 2016.
A boost so huge, has thrown the French team right back into play in their battle with McLaren F1 Team for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. The gap has been reduced to eighteen points.
Abiteboul understands that there some “very challenging circuits to come this season”, where he expects his team to be less competitive than what they were at Monza but wants his crew to indulge last weekend as a success.
“Today’s result is not only the best combined result for the team since its re-entry to Formula 1, but also a demonstration after Montréal and Spa the clear progress of the team and in particular on the power unit side that has been so openly criticised in the past,” Abiteboul congratulated his team’s efforts.
“It is a demonstration that everything is so fluid with a competitive package. It is also an invitation to repeat these types of emotions, when our season has been far from a smooth ride so far.
“Our drivers have shown what they can do with a competitive car. They have been remarkable all the way through including in tricky situations.
“This result is good for the team as we also know there are very challenging circuits to come this season where we will be less competitive. But let’s take this for now.”
