F1 | Renault, Abiteboul has no doubts: “2020 car? We will benefit from the performances in qualifying"

Interviewed by Autosport during the last weekend in Monaco, Cyril Abiteboul spoke about the development that Renault is carrying out with a view to 2020, underlining how the French team could approach the layout of the car that will take to the track next season in a different way.

According to what the French manager declared, in fact, the Viry team could benefit more from its performance in qualifying, so as to have a car capable of qualifying in the front area of ​​the grid. A choice that has its own precise logic, given that the new regulations studied by the FIA ​​have failed to improve the situation with regards to overtaking and slipstream driving.

“We are evaluating a couple of changes that could change the behavior and competitiveness of the car that will take to the track next year,” Cyril Abiteboul declared to the columns of Autosport. “The first aspect is certainly aerodynamic efficiency, while the second is the balance between performance in qualifying and that in the race. Today, qualifying is an extremely important aspect and therefore we will work in this direction."

“Today's Grands Prix are almost all like Monaco,” continued the Frenchman. “As teams we must establish a very specific model with which to develop the concept for next season. On the one hand the qualification, while on the other the race. There are no other ways. Today the transmission ratios cannot be changed during the year, so we cannot vary them according to our needs, but we are talking about an aspect we can work on for 2020".

Despite these proclamations, however, Abiteboul underlined how Renault's goal is to reach the top by the 2021 season: “Our bet is to work mainly on 2021. Today we are developing the concept for 2020, so as to be ready for the regulatory change expected in two seasons”.