Renault has confirmed that it remains fully committed to its Formula 1 project in the wake of announcing a major cost-cutting programme.
Renault returned to Formula 1 as a works team at the start of 2016 and last year confirmed that it was assessing the project as part of a company-wide evaluation.
On Friday the France-based car manufacturer published a plan for how it intends to save €2bn in costs across the next three years.
It is in response both to declining car sales through 2019 and to the coronavirus pandemic.
Almost 15,000 job losses are set to be made, and it will involve several factories in France and worldwide, with the production of the Alpine A110 sportscar set to be terminated.
The corporation, 15 per cent owned by the French government, is set to reduce its involvement in the Chinese market, withdrawing from its Dongfeng alliance.
Its Formula 1 team was re-launched in 2016 with the original ambition of fighting for podiums by 2018 and the title by 2020, but those targets were re-aligned.
Renault last year classified fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, falling behind outgoing customer team McLaren, and it has yet to record a podium finish.
Answering questions on a conference call on Friday, Renault’s Interim CEO Clotilde Delbos reaffirmed the marque’s commitment to the championship.
“F1, we said publicly, and we confirm, that we intend to stay in Formula 1,” she said.
“Actually the news about new regulations, new cap, in terms of investment, is very good for us, because we had as you know less investment in this area compared to some of our competitors, which were spending a lot of money.
“So, F1 we are here, and we stay in Formula 1.”
Formula 1 will introduce a budget cap from 2021, revised at $145m down from $175m in response to the coronavirus pandemic, before lowering to $140m in 2022 and $135m for 2023-25.
