Renault must ’consider’ Ricciardo alternatives - boss

Renault’s boss has admitted the French team could say goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo at the end of 2020.

Cyril Abiteboul revealed that until the corona crisis struck, the plan for this year was to make an assessment about the Australian driver’s place on the team during the race season.

"It is complicated for Daniel and for us," Abiteboul told France’s Auto Hebdo.

"We wanted to see the spirit, the performance, the way the team worked during this second year together, what progress we had made on the car, how it all felt," he explained.

"We had discussed a timetable to identify the key stages where we wanted to talk. All of this was in the normal universe that has since been shattered."

And so, Abiteboul said he doesn’t know if Ricciardo will stay at Renault in 2021. The 30-year-old driver has been linked with a move to Ferrari or even a return to Red Bull.

"I have no great revelation to make to you," Abiteboul said. "Daniel is an option for us, obviously. But we have to consider others."

One of those options is Renault junior Christian Lundegaard, but the 18-year-old is yet to qualify for his super license ahead of his delayed Formula 2 debut.

"The absence of races makes things more complicated to make the right decisions, but we cannot delay them forever," Abiteboul said.