Renault is ready to unleash “three years of attack” in their effort to become a winning team in Formula 1 again, says executive director Marcin Budkowski.
The French manufacturer has been making good progress through the midfield since returning as a works team in 2016 and would highlight that by finishing fourth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship.
But that isn’t sufficient for a team like Renault and now, the former FIA man claims, the real push begins with the foundation of the Enstone & Viry-based operation in place.
“We do not work for the short-term,” Budkowski explained to France’s Auto Hebdo. “We don’t just hire experienced people, but mostly young people coming out of university. We invest in the future. We are not looking for immediate results as we are still rebuilding the team.
“We could have done better last year if the short-term had been our goal, but rather it is to build a team capable of being world champions and after three years of construction, three years of attack are beginning.”
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Budkowski’s appointment was part of that rebuilding project which has also now attracted a top-line driver in Daniel Ricciardo as the Australian also looks long-term.
Initial signs for 2019 are also looking good with Renault claiming to have made their biggest gains in both car and engine over any winter period so far.
However, similar comments have been made before and ultimately, they’ve fallen flat as they did last year with the level of development much lower than those around them.
“If the question is ‘Did we do a great job in terms of car development?’ the answer is no. Our progress was inherently worse than in 2017 and we are aware of it,” the Renault chief admitted.
“There is a bit of disappointment at not being able to get closer to the top three, but that drives us to change things in the way we operate.”