Analysis: How Renault plans to bounce back from "unacceptable" 2016

This was always going to be a difficult season for the reborn works Renault team, given that the takeover of the Enstone outfit was not finalised until the end of last year.

As a result of a lack of investment and depleted resources, the former Lotus team lagged behind badly on R&D. On top of that, the major rule changes for 2017 meant that there hasn't been much point in developing this year's car, as there will be very little carry over.

That double whammy has inevitably left Renault badly exposed. Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer have gotten accustomed to dropping out Q1, and the only top-10 finish of the season has thus far been a one-off seventh place for the Dane early on.

Matters have not been helped by a series of major accidents that have seen the drivers working their way through new chassis.

Monza was another disappointing weekend for the team, as they started 20th and 21st, ahead of only Manor's Esteban Ocon, who didn't set a flying lap in qualifying. Palmer was an early retirement after contact with old rival Felipe Nasr, while Magnussen finished well outside the points.

Holding out for tomorrow

It is, of course, commonly understood that things will be better next year. Resources are being built up, and Bob Bell, one of the architects of the current Mercedes success, has been quietly working away in the background. But that doesn't make this year's ongoing frustrations any easier to take, as Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul admits.

"We knew it would be tough, and it's tougher, in short," the Frenchman told Motorsport.com. "It's no big surprise. We knew that we were coming with a car that was 18 months behind what everybody else is operating, and there's no point in over investing in this car.

"But frankly it doesn't make this any easier. We're really focussing on what's happening at the factory, on investing, bringing new people, but it's difficult because it's a race, and we are very exposed as a management group, as a company, shareholders, and the staff also.

"Everyone is very exposed to what is happening on an almost weekly basis. So it's very difficult having one part of the brain looking at that, and another part of the brain saying, let's focus on the race."

Having made a long-term commitment to F1, the Renault management can't ignore bad weekends like that at Monza, because the company's branding is on the cars. There's nowhere to hide.

"That's not good, that's not comfortable, that's almost I would say, unacceptable," Abiteboul conceded.

"There is a bigger project, there is a bigger picture, we need to stay extremely focussed. It's not that when times are hard we need to shift our focus to what really matters, which is next year.

"Again, we need to have a part of our brain which is looking at what happened in the race. We should not close our eyes and say, ‘that's okay,' and be complacent about the situation, because we may be losing sight of something that may matter for tomorrow. But again, what matters is tomorrow."

There are still things that can be learned from this season, of course. "I think we have to understand is if there is something we are really missing. Of all the weaknesses we have, I think we are a bit weak in tyre management. That's part of what we are trying to strengthen. That's something that will take time."

"Red Bull was not built in a day"

Every weekend Red Bull provides a benchmark for the potential of the Renault power unit. On the one hand, it's encouraging for the manufacturer to know that its improving V6 is capable of earning podiums.

On the other, Red Bull's form provides a clear indication of just how much the works team needs to do.

"Red Bull was not built in a day," Abiteboul insisted. "I remember eight or nine years ago they were going through restructuring after restructuring.

"Their first cars were hideous, the transition from Jaguar to Red Bull was not painless.

"We've been with Red Bull almost since the start, and we have a number of people in our organisation who have a good memory, and remember what they had to go through in order to get there.

"Obviously the comparison and the benchmarking is both useful and painful, but we are capable also of putting that into perspective."

Improving morale

On the positive side, Abiteboul says that the changes are starting to pay off, and he sees signs of an upturn in mood, if not yet in form on the track.

"In particular, after the shutdown, there was a very positive buzz at the factory, we have new faces, all people relaxed.

"Last winter was tough for Enstone, last year was tough for Viry, the winter was tough for both sides, managing the integration at the last minute of a Renault engine into a car designed for a Mercedes. Plus all the stress associated with the uncertainty for Enstone, but also for Viry.

"So I think this summer shutdown has been very welcome and very well-deserved, and I could see a very positive buzz coming back. And also the results of the first investments from Renault are becoming a reality in Enstone, because so far it was words, in presentations or documents, or promises to the staff. For the first time, it's starting to become reality.

"Now hopefully everyone can see what Renault's commitment means, because that's visible. It's new building, expansion, new machines, new everything, so hopefully people will start to get the drive.

"But again people need also to be fuelled by the results, and the current performance is a difficulty in that respect."

The results don't make it any easier for the team to sell itself either to top-name drivers or, indeed, to leading engineers who might be wary of joining a team that is so far down the grid. Abiteboul, however, insists that history shows that Renault can get the job done.

"Let's be honest, it's one of the difficulties that we face right now with the current situation of the team, but people just have to look back at history, look at what Renault did in F1 in general, what Enstone did with Renault and other shareholders in F1, also the time it takes when you buy a team – in particular in December, do not forget we did all of that in December.

"Look also at the progress made on the engine, because of the hard work, because of the commitment of Renault.

"So I think that everyone, these guys, but also the engineers and technicians that we're talking to, they should see that we are extremely serious in our ambitions, and we have the capacity to deliver."