After a first podium since 2011 at the Nurburgring, Renault must now become “addicts to success”, Cyril Abiteboul says.
The in-form Daniel Ricciardo was in the right place at the right time to capitalise on Valtteri Bottas’ retirement and finish third at the Eifel Grand Prix.
It was a result that had been coming as well with the Australian having only been outscored by the two Mercedes’ since Spa, moving himself up to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship in the process.
And now the French manufacturer is in a position to achieve such results and has had a first taste of the podium, Abiteboul wants that to become a feeling that Renault enjoys much more often.
“We need to take the positive emotion,” he said post-race. “You know the amount of work that goes into a programme like this one, and I’m not just talking about me, I’m talking about the 1000 more team members that compose this team. They need a bit of emotion, they need some energy.
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“Keep in mind that we grew massively. Most of the people who have joined the team are young people, who have never experienced the emotion of winning or even being on the podium.
“So we need to take that and we need to make them addicts to success for them to develop more, to build more success.
“And, yes, right now, we need a bit of circumstance to be on that podium. But the focus will be from Monday onwards first to understand the problems that we’ve had.”
Though Ricciardo won’t be around to continue that project in 2021, his replacement, Mr Fernando Alonso, is more than ready to pick up the baton.
“The situation is obviously very positive,” Abiteboul said on the Spaniard. “We receive a message before, during, after the race. You would be impressed to measure his level of interest.
“I think that when he initially joined the team and when we announced him, his communication was very much about 2022. The more the season is going and with the team’s progression, the car progression, the more he starts to be interested in 2021.
“Fernando is like a big shark. As soon as he starts to feel the blood, he wants to attack. That’s what I see. I see a shark, very hungry – so that will be good to see.”
Renault’s progress is also capturing the attention of their rivals with Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz claiming Alonso is returning to F1 at a good moment.
“I actually think Renault, or Alpine [as they’ll be known in 2021], is doing a very good job right now,” he told MotorsportWeek.com.
“They’re definitely in the right direction after a tough year in 2019 and they look to have found the right path for developing their car and they are making our lives very difficult at McLaren.
“I think Fernando is joining Renault actually at a very good time after some difficult years and I think it is good news for the sport, for Formula 1. It’s just good news for everyone for him to be back.”