Former Renault team principal Flavio Briatore has warned Renault that it must revisit its driver line-up if it’s to achieve its aim of winning races.
The French manufacturer recently announced a takeover of the Lotus team, which had previously signed contracts with Pastor Maldonado and rookie Jolyon Palmer for 2016.
Maldonado brings huge investment from state-owned PDVSA, but has a questionable on-track record despite winning the 2010 GP2 championship.
Meanwhile 2014 GP2 champion Palmer, has proven his pace during several FP1 outings, but is inexperienced.
Briatore therefore believes they must change their drive line-up to ensure success.
“It’s true that Renault must rebuild everything, including the technical team,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Enstone lost some great engineers, and in Viry also. It will be not easy. If you want to win, you must change the drivers as well.”
It is however expected that Renault will continue with Maldonado and Palmer in 2016 as it rebuilds the team, before revisiting the matter later in the season.
