Breaking news

Formula 1

Renault not ruling out Vettel if Ricciardo leaves

Renault has not ruled out Sebastian Vettel as an option for 2021 if it loses Daniel Ricciardo, but suggests its preference would be to go for a youngster instead.

Jonathan Noble

Edited: Mar 17, 2020, 11:39 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

The French car manufacturer's contract with Ricciardo runs out at the end of this year, and the Australian has already been strongly linked with a move to Ferrari should Vettel not stay there.

Both Renault and Ricciardo are hoping that a performance uplift this season will be enough for them to extend their partnership, though, but nothing is set in stone.

Speaking to the 'La Grille' programme on Canal+, Renault F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul was not dismissive of a swoop for Vettel, but equally did not suggest it would be his priority.

"I don't want to say no, as he is a great driver, and a great champion," said Abiteboul when asked if the four-time champion was an option. "We worked together on the engine side and we won together.

"[But] I rather aspire to work with tomorrow's drivers than yesterday's. It really is very difficult to sum it up like that, so please don't sum it up like that about Sebastian.

"Still, we also have a driver academy, with drivers who might come out of it in 2021 or 2022. We need to keep this in mind, as we created this academy in 2016 with the goal of having a driver graduate to F1 in 2021.

"Now 2021 is coming, we have to acknowledge it. Typically, there's Christian Lundgaard. He's an option among others: he's got his F2 season to do, we've got our own season to do with Daniel."

Read Also:

Abiteboul was clear that the main factor in deciding Ricciardo's future would be the form of the Renault car, although the delay to the start of the season would mean a conclusion on that would have to wait.

"We've got to retain him [Ricciardo] based on good foundations, shared foundations," he explained. "The project is what matters. I'm answering the question without really answering it, but I think we need to wait and see the first races.

"Have we made a step forward? Are we recovering a little more confidence compared to last year? Is he still integrating better within the team? Then, if we feel like we've got a long-term project, why not?"

Abiteboul also reckoned that Ricciardo was emotionally invested in Renault, having made a bold decision to move across from Red Bull at the end of 2018.

"I think Daniel cares a lot about his move to Renault, which was very criticised by some media – British media – who don't understand it," he said.

"This idea of building a project on the human, technical and sporting side matters to him. He's someone who is guided by his emotions and he wants to show he can stick to his decision, as long as it proves to be a good one."

Translation by Benjamin Vinel

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Rivals should trust FIA on Ferrari engine settlement - Leclerc

Next article Carey apologises to F1 fans over Australian GP cancellation

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Martinsville II

2 h

NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars

Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Martinsville II

2 h

Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"

Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 6 h

Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework

Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Mexican GP

6 h

Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1

Feature

Discover prime content

Lewis Hamilton needs “serious talks” with himself and his team-mate

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Stuart Codling

Lewis Hamilton needs “serious talks” with himself and his team-mate

How Ferrari's loss became Max Verstappen's gain at F1's Mexico GP

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

How Ferrari's loss became Max Verstappen's gain at F1's Mexico GP

The seven moments that defined Kimi Antonelli's F1 title win in 2026

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

The seven moments that defined Kimi Antonelli's F1 title win in 2026

Why lap times in Mexico have been so much closer to the previous F1 era

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Stuart Codling

Why lap times in Mexico have been so much closer to the previous F1 era

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts