“It’s a Big Ask, a Lot of Expectations”: Renault Boss Sympathises with Pirelli Over Being an F1 Supplier

With the 2020 F1 season not even underway yet, teams are already having to revise their plans for next year’s car. The reason being that the new Pirelli tires that will be used on the cars, starting from 2021 will be bigger (18 inches). This means that teams will have to alter their cars’ floor structure to decrease the amount of downforce and the stress on the tires. However, it’s not the easiest of jobs. Racing Point‘s technical director believes they’ll need a complete aerodynamics overhaul. Nevertheless, Renault F1’s team principal Cyril Abiteboul shows Pirelli some sympathy. The tire manufacturer often has to dance to the tune of F1 teams on short notice.

Renault boss thinks teams should make stable decisions and give Pirelli enough time to cater to the f1 teams’ needs

Autosport.com interviewed Renault F1’s team principal, Cyril Abiteboul. He opines being a supplier to F1 is tough. Cyril said, “I’ve been a supplier of engines, and I know the difficulty of being a supplier to F1. It’s a big ask, a lot of expectations. I think we need to do a slightly better job in giving sufficient notice and stability on our decisions so that Pirelli are given the opportunity to develop the right product.”

Furthermore, he said, “Take the example of this year. We were supposed to move to 18 inches next year. But we decided just when we were coming back from Australia to postpone the regulations by a year. We always need to look at the consequences of our decisions.”

Abiteboul thinks that teams should help Pirelli to anticipate the downforce levels that the 2021 tires will have to manage. He says that the teams and the tire supplier need to be on the same page and work together.

Looking forward to the start of the 2020 season, Renault will be hoping to beat the likes of McLaren and Racing Point for the unofficial title of ‘the best of the rest.’ If they can provide Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon with a better car than the one they had last season, the drivers would be able to close the 54 point gap by which Renault trailed McLaren last year.