Monaco GP exposed Renault’s weaknesses - Abiteboul 

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul believes the Monaco Grand Prix exposed his Formula 1 team’s weakness with understanding how best to manage Pirelli’s 2018 tyres. 

The French manufacturer recorded a double points finish in Monte Carlo to move six points clear of midfield rivals McLaren in the battle for fourth place in the constructos’ standings, though both drivers struggled with tyre issues, particularly Carlos Sainz in the closing stages of the race.

While Abiteboul was pleased to see his side meet the team’s aim of getting both cars inside the top 10, he insists Renault must work to find solutions around how to better manage Pirelli’s 2018 compounds, having faced a drop-off in competitiveness compared to previous rounds. 

“It’s been a mixed weekend. The overall result is good; two cars in the points and a good cushion in fourth in the championship, but a race like this one exposes more of our weaknesses,” Abiteboul said. 

“Despite the fact it is a much better result than last year in Monaco, we were not as competitive as recent races and more work needs to be done on tyre management and understanding. 

“In the current situation we are almost better to start P11 and have a free tyre choice than to start within the first ten with the qualifying tyres. Clearly some teams ahead of us manage to make it work, so it is possible.”

Sainz finished two positions behind teammate Nico Hulkenberg in 10th place after Renault instructed him to let the German driver past, with the Spaniard struggling with his tyre life in the final stint. Sainz said he felt “very bitter” to only score one point and labelled his race a “disaster”.

"[It's] very bad, very bitter. I think the race was a bit of a disaster from the start," Sainz told Movistar.

"Even though I was saving the tyres, the fronts degraded a lot. We don't know why and it's something we need to pay attention to. And then the decision to switch to the ultrasofts on Lap 15 was not the most appropriate."

Hulkenberg added he felt he had maximised his result of eighth place after Renault made the most of the situation it found itself in. 

 “I had the possibility of running a different strategy to Carlos and it worked well," he explained. "It was a good recovery from a not so successful qualifying yesterday and I think eighth was the best we could do in the situation."