SAN FRANCISCO, January 11, (THEWILL) – Cyril Abiteboul, the French motor racing engineer, managing director and team principal of Renault Formula 1 Team has decided to call it a day.
The 43-year-old is leaving ahead of the team’s rebranding as Alpine for the 2021 season.
In September 2020, Groupe Renault announced their intention to use “Alpine” as the team’s new moniker to promote the group’s sports car brand Automobiles Alpine.
As a result, for the new season due to start in March, the Renault F1 Team will become known as the Alpine F1 Team. They will race with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who joined the outfit to replace Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo after the latter moved to McLaren.
In a statement making his decision public, Abiteboul thanked the team for trusting him “for many years, particularly with the relaunch and reconstruction of the team since 2016.”
The Frenchman noted: “The solid foundations of the racing team and the entities in France and England built over these years, the strategic evolution of the sport towards a more economically sustainable model, and more recently the Alpine project which provides a renewed sense of meaning and dynamism, all point to a very fine trajectory.”
As at present, no immediate replacement has been announced for the departing team principal. However, expectations are that Groupe Renault will act quickly to have someone in charge in time before the season opener in March.
With three podium finishes last season on the way to finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship and Alonso in their seat for the upcoming calendar, Renault can hope to improve upon the achievements of the leadership of Abiteboul while going forward with a new face at the helm.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
