Renault is in a “robust” position and will operate without a team principal after the departure of Frederic Vasseur, according to managing director Cyril Abiteboul.
He confirmed that the Enstone-based team will continue with its current personnel but was also flexible on the team’s future path.
“We will not replace Fred in the capacity of team principal. If we feel we are held back by not having a team principal, we will take action,” he told Crash.net.
Vasseur’s departure comes after a disagreement in the French team’s ‘direction and ideas’ going forward in F1.
It seems that Abiteboul has decided the team principal role to be too ambiguous for the French squad; that it is best served on a team-by-team basis.
“Each of the teams has their own requirements and targets, which is why I think the role of team principal is very vague. Even though the name is the same, the role is very different from one team to the next.”
Despite a setback in management, Abiteboul is confident in Renault’s current management structure and that progress will continue without the need for a designated team boss.
He is also hopeful to improve on a disappointing ninth place finish in the 2016 Constructors’ Championship, the addition of former Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg to the team’s 2017 driver’s lineup is expected to play a large role in development going forward.
“We have a structure which is very robust. We have done lots of changes to the management structure at the start of last year and I hope and believe what we have done with Red Bull from an engine point of view is a demonstration that this structure is a capable structure.
“We have a very strong structure which is why we don’t feel shocked, we don’t feel weakened by the announcement, which is something which had been discussed at length with Fred. We tried to make it work but at some point when it is of the view that it doesn’t work, we have to make a decision and move on,” he said.
Comments.
Loading comments…