Renault advances its investment plan
If Renault has decided to return as a team with a five-year investment plan, it has decided to bring these investments forward in order to move up the hierarchy as quickly as possible.
The team that was called Lotus last year had finished the 2015 season on autopilot, trying to survive amid payment delays and attempts to seize equipment. The team consequently lost nearly 67 million euros during this period.
This explains why the transaction price was only a symbolic euro, but the investments by the French manufacturer are already impressive as they have reached 90 million euros in the team’s last fiscal year at Enstone. Cyril Abiteboul, the team director, commented to Autosport that this equation was well known after the preliminary analysis work prior to the acquisition: “The debt was known after the extensive research done last year and explains why substantial investments were necessary. Hopefully, this demonstrates that Renault was able to realize the only option for this team to continue. Without it, I don’t think it would be here today.”
The French leader takes this opportunity to emphasize the importance of his investment and also explains why Renault has long negotiated with Bernie Ecclestone to secure additional funds as a historical team.
If the Diamond made it clear from the start that it was committed to the long term in F1, with the goal of fighting for the championship within a five-year horizon. But if the essential for this season was achieved thanks to the six points collected by Kevin Magnussen in Russia, a world-class manufacturer cannot be content with ninth place for very long.
That’s why Cyril Abiteboul reveals that investments have been anticipated to allocate more resources starting this season to prepare in the best possible conditions for the important changes of next season: « We had set up a five-year plan with an investment package, but a few weeks ago, we received authorization to increase this package and bring it forward. What we want to do is make a difference as quickly as possible. For that, there’s no better way than to accelerate what we need to do in this five-year plan. »
His investment program includes both the chassis of his own team and the engines used at Enstone, as well as those used by the two teams owned by Red Bull. The French manager is thus delighted to see the progress made, which has allowed Red Bull to return to the top step of the podium.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
