“We had hoped for more”- Renault disappointed with performances by junior drivers

“We had hoped for more”- Renault projects disappointment towards the output by junior drivers in the system despite few positives.

Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul at the End of the season review of Renault’s academy took a look back to 2020 calendar performances amidst the pandemic struck schedule.

In which he clearly pointed out his resentment towards Renault’s junior drivers’ final standings, though also remarked there were few positives like Oscar Piastri’s F3 title win, yet a lot more has to be done.

“Oscar Piastri’s Formula 3 title was an incredible moment that we are very proud of. On the other hand, we had hoped for more from Guanyu Zhou and Christiaan Lundgaard in Formula 2.”

“We are a little disappointed with the results of sixth and seventh places in the championship, despite some victories and podiums. We know all drivers can do better, and they know they have to do better next year to make progress in the Academy,” Abiteboul said.

F2 is a crucial stepping stone towards F1, and none of Renault’s prospects ultimately shined, and despite four entrants in f1 from F2 this season, Renault brought none.

Renault relying on the old guard

Esteban Ocon having a fair share of experience in Formula 1 could have been pushed by Renault for the anchor role after Daniel Ricciardo’s exit announcement, and the French side could have thought of making a room for a younger driver.

But, like above mentioned, none of the drivers in their current F2 lineup did enough to get an F1 callup. Hence, it ultimately had to rely on an old guard and approached Fernando Alonso for a short term fix.

Ocon on the other hand, if impresses in near future might get a callup from Mercedes to replace the ageing duo of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell also in contention of the seat.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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