Renault: Alonso a ‘good option’ for 2021 seat

Renault will take time to consider who to recruit as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement but team boss Cyril Abiteboul has admitted Fernando Alonso remains an option.

It was announced earlier this month that Ricciardo will leave Renault to join McLaren for 2021, in place of Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz Jr.

It has left a vacancy alongside Esteban Ocon at the manufacturer.

During an interview with French-language radio station RMC Sport on Saturday, Abiteboul said: “There are can be a lot of pilots. There are good pilots who will be available next year.

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Referring to the interviewer mentioning Alonso, Abiteboul said: “The one you mentioned is an option. There are others.”

Abiteboul stressed that “the only thing I can say is that we are going to take the time to reflect. This is an extremely important decision.

“We did not want to get into this kind of activism that there has been on the part of Ferrari and McLaren, for reasons that are theirs.

“Frankly, to decide on a driver when the season has not even started…we thought it was a little strange.”

Renault’s board confirmed on Friday that it was making 15,000 personnel redundant across its automotive division but that it remained fully committed to its Formula 1 project beyond 2020.

“This choice of driver is the last element of the puzzle of our reconstruction,” said Abiteboul.

“Hence the importance of taking our time and making the right choice.”