Abiteboul confident Renault's reliability will not hamper season objectives
F1 News
Cyril Abiteobul is adamant reliability isn't a problem at Renault. Despite four retirements in three races this season, Abiteboul is confident breakdowns will not prevent Renault from reaching their 2019 targets in Formula 1.
Renault's most memorable moment in the early stages of the season came in Bahrain when Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg retired from the race at virtually the same time. Each driver has finished just once inside the top 10.
Ricciardo's seventh-place result in China meant that Renault had enough points to reclaim the 'best of the rest' slot in the constructors' standings as they tied level with Alfa Romeo. Boss Abiteboul is confident his team will fix issues and prevent them from hampering their season.
"We have had another retirement [in China], the fourth in six starts, three of these were due to reliability issues. If our objective this season - to widen the midfield gap - remains unchanged then we must accept to put in strong efforts to resolve these issues that could compromise our season," Abiteboul said.
Hulkenberg has already used two MGU-K units this season. Another change will yield a grid penalty. Despite this, upgrades and changes will still be made according to Abiteboul.
“Nevertheless, we will push on and bring new elements over the next races. Baku is often unpredictable, the racing there is thrilling and it is an opportunity to capitalise on rivals’ errors whilst avoiding making some ourselves," he added in the interview on Crash.