French GP provides ‘added motivation’ for Renault

The Renault Formula 1 team has an “added level of emotion and motivation” heading into the first French Grand Prix in a decade. 

F1 returns to France after a 10-year hiatus following the 2008 round, with Paul Ricard hosting the race for the first time since 1990, albeit at a revamped and longer 5.8km version of the circuit. 

For Renault, this weekend will provide the French manufacturer with its first GP on home soil since the last race at Magny-Cours, with Renault sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul keen to stress the importance of the race cannot be understated. 

"The return of the French Grand Prix is going to carry an added level of emotion for all at Renault. Everyone who works for the marque is proud of our heritage at this event,” Abiteboul said. 

“We head to Circuit Paul Ricard on the back of a positive result in Montréal, where we demonstrated, once more, our excellent team spirit. We recovered from a difficult start to the weekend to take ten points and a healthy step forward in the Constructors’ Championship.”

Renault has enjoyed its strongest start to a season since returning as a full-blown works squad in 2016 and currently holds fourth place in the constructors’ championship, 16 points clear of customer team McLaren. 

Carlos Sainz believes the nature of the Paul Ricard circuit should suit the strengths of Renault, with the team looking to build upon back-to-back double points finishes in Monaco and Canada, having been bolstered by a power unit upgrade in Montreal. 

"We’re coming from a very strong team result in Canada so I think we can be positive about that,” Sainz explained. "We need to keep developing the car at this rate, as everything we are bringing to the circuit is working and the car is getting quicker and quicker. 

“Paul Ricard has quite similar characteristics to Montréal, with the two long straights and emphasis on a good top speed so if we can perform in a similar manner to Canada we’ll be happy."

Teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who leads Sainz by eight points in eighth place in the drivers’ standings, added: “I’m very much looking forward to racing at Circuit Paul Ricard. It’s been a long time coming for Renault, 10 years since their last race on home soil, so I’m carrying that extra level of motivation to do the job proud on track. I know how much this means to the staff members of the team!”