Renault wants to return to the top in F1 by 2011

Renault wants to get back into the fight for the Formula 1 world championship by 2011 according to team principal Bob Bell. The future of the Enstone team has been assured since mid-December with the transfer of a large portion of the shares into the hands of the entrepreneur Gerard Lopez, who owns Genii Capital.

Now, after the scandal that led to the dismissal of Flavio Briatore and the five-year ban for Pat Symonds, Bell has declared that Renault now wants to concentrate on building a medium-term strategy to return to the top.

"Our real goal is to aim for the world championship in 2011," Bell told Autosport. "But we also have real expectations for 2010. We are not making a car that will catapult us ahead because F1 is competitive. But for 2010 we want to make steps forward and fight for the top three places."