Renault ‘wouldn’t say no’ to Vettel if Ricciardo departs

Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul wouldn’t dismiss the opportunity of snapping up Sebastian Vettel if Daniel Ricciardo departs the French outfit at the end of the 2020 season.

This year’s campaign has yet to get underway, but the silly season is already in full swing.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto recently stated Vettel remains the Scuderia’s first choice for 2021, with contract talks set to get underway with the four-time world champion.

However, the rumor that Riccardo will pass through the golden gates of Maranello when his current two-year deal with Renault expires at the end of the year just won’t go away.

Ferrari: Contract talks with Vettel to be resolved ‘very soon’

Speaking to France’s Canal Plus, Abiteboul was queried on the eventuality of Renault and Ferrari swapping Ricciado and Vettel.

“I don’t want to say no, as he [Vettel] is a great driver, and a great champion,” said the Renault F1 Team boss.

“We worked together on the engine side [at Red Bull Racing] and we won together.”

However, Abiteboul admitted that Renault’s priority – if Ricciardo leaves – is to promote a young talent from its junior ranks.

“I rather aspire to work with tomorrow’s drivers than yesterday’s. It really is very difficult to sum it up like that, so please don’t sum it up like that about Sebastian.

“Still, we also have a driver academy, with drivers who might come out of it in 2021 or 2022.

“We need to keep this in mind, as we created this academy in 2016 with the goal of having a driver graduate to F1 in 2021.

“Now 2021 is coming, we have to acknowledge it. Typically, there’s Christian Lundgaard. He’s an option among others: he’s got his F2 season to do, we’ve got our own season to do with Daniel.”

Ricciardo’s future with the French squad will likely depend on its ability to out-perform its midfield rivals. But Abiteboul is convinced that Ricciardo remain a believer in the Renault project.

“We’ve got to retain him based on good foundations, shared foundations,” he explained.

“The project is what matters. I’m answering the question without really answering it, but I think we need to wait and see the first races.

“Have we made a step forward? Are we recovering a little more confidence compared to last year? Is he still integrating better within the team? Then, if we feel like we’ve got a long-term project, why not?”

“I think Daniel cares a lot about his move to Renault, which was very criticised by some media – British media – who don’t understand it,” he said.

“This idea of building a project on the human, technical and sporting side matters to him. He’s someone who is guided by his emotions and he wants to show he can stick to his decision, as long as it proves to be a good one.”