Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul says that F1’s 2021 financials and cost cutting measures will supersede technical regulations when it comes to defining the French manufacturer’s future in the sport.
Formula 1 teams are expected to be presented with a clear framework of the 2021 technical and commercial rules in London on Tuesday at scheduled meetings of the F1 Commission and the Strategy Group.
While the sport’s future technical platform has already been partly defined, teams are still in the dark regarding the specifics of F1’s future economics, including their budget cap component which Abiteboul sees as the most pressing matter.
“As far as Renault is concerned, because we think that something needs to be seriously done to contain the costs to be competitive in F1, we are massively in support of the budget cap,” the Renault F1 boss told Motorsport.com.
“Is it the perfect answer? Maybe not. Is it the best answer? Probably.
“That’s why we’re working very actively to make it as robust as possible, and according to what will be our assessment at the end, we will see if we can be in favour, and we think it is a proper deterrent, or not.
“I think we all accept that everyone needs to have some form of clarity before the summer.
“In order to do that we need to seriously get things ticked off, in particular on the financial side, on the governance.
“For me the three things that can’t wait are the financial distribution, the governance, and the budget cap – anything that’s related to the business, and the sustainability of the business model is important, because that’s what will define whether or not F1 is still a compelling and attractive platform for 2021.”
Abiteboul admits that reaching a regulatory consensus between all teams is a massive task for Liberty Media and the FIA.
But the Frenchman wonders if the sport’s commercial rights holder is perhaps approaching its negotiations with with excessive caution.
“I think it’s complex. They trying to reconcile teams that have different business models, very distinctive set-ups,” he conceded.
“Right now it looks like they are not prepared to upset anyone. The risk and danger is that by doing that they end up upsetting everyone.
“That’s why I think it’s taking a lot of time to find something that would be able to satisfy everyone.
“I can see where they’re coming from, I can understand their point. But I think the main thing to do is to make sure that F1 is and remains attractive.
“Right now it looks like they are afraid of losing one team, two teams, three teams.
“I think what’s really important is instead of having to live in fear we make F1 a platform that is again attractive enough to attract enough teams, so that you are not held to ransom by anyone.”
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