Renault does want to win again in Formula 1 but won’t spend huge amounts of money to achieve it, F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul has stated.
The French manufacturer has been in rebuild mode after buying the remains of the former Lotus team at the end of 2015 yet, despite their rapid progress through the midfield, continues to lag far behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
An overhaul in the regulations set for 2021 under a new Concorde Agreement has been seen as the big opportunity for Renault, with the company unwilling to put the same investment in as those top three teams.
“I don’t want to be moaning about the situation because when we joined F1 we knew the situation,” Abiteboul told RACER.
“What’s quite remarkable is the arms race and the relentless spend in order to win — which I fully respect and I think it has afforded a great racing season this year, so we just need to see how we can emulate at some point.
“At some point, there will be a different deal on money distribution. At some point, there will have to be a limitation of spend because in our opinion it’s just not sustainable and I believe, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is a shared feeling from everyone.”
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Talks between teams and owners Liberty Media continue to shape that future with a $150m budget cap among the suggestions, but it is facing pushback from the likes of Mercedes who have built their operations over many years.
Renault though maintains it is merely a matter of when not if those changes come.
“If the plan is delayed by one year then it’s delayed by one year but I think what matters is the principle that we must be in a position to win races at a reasonable cost, given the value of Formula 1,” Abiteboul stated.
“This is the equation that we want… returning to reality in the next few months.”