Renault: “We Will Make Sure That No Job is Under Threat”

The Renault, McLaren and Williams teams are worried about Force India may become a Mercedes B team. If the beleaguered team finds a new owner, they hope that they won’t align themselves to Mercedes.

Last week Force India was forced into administration. This was in light of several parties began proceedings with regard to money owed to them.

According to several reports, several parties are interested in buying the team. But, they have to contend with opposition from Renault, McLaren and Williams.

The three want reassurance that Force India won’t become a Mercedes B-team. Only then will they agree to conditions to help the sale go through.

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul was concerned that this system would be unfair to anyone without a B team. In a sense, it would discourage competitive among non customer teams. He said that even today, certain aspects are visible on the grid in the development of the chassis or engine.

Abiteboul advised against making it a necessity otherwise their involvement will not be sustainable. He also expressed concern for any jobs which could come under threat. All they want to do is understand the commercial rights holder’s vision for the future.

He also insisted that Renault would never block a Force India deal. As he mentioned before, the priority is to prevent unemployment. However, they want reassurance before vote for or against the decision.

Their concerns originated from Haas’ close ties to Ferrari, as well as Sauber’s Alfa Romeo partnership.

However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he is not looking for a B-team.

“We don’t like the concept of B-teams in Formula 1,” he said.

“We’d rather not have this structure because it provides advantages to both teams, and competitive advantages, you could argue. We are not buying Force India and we would rather not have the concept of a B-team.

“I understand there are questions from Cyril and others over what is the future of F1 if big teams buy smaller teams, which I completely respect. I completely share those thoughts and I don’t think it is the right way forward.

“I hope we can find a discussion so the scope of co-operation is narrowed down between teams. There are commercial arrangements that make sense, but there are downsides to it. And that is the competitive order can change.

“So we need to find a solution to how the small teams can benefit from shared infrastructure but at the same time not gain an advantage that is currently possible.

“We have held discussions with every potential buyer to my knowledge and the most important thing is someone with the right funds buys the team. But we are not orchestrating it. It is in the hands of the administrator.

“It needs to be the best outcome for the creditors of the team and that is to sell for the best financial outcome.”