There was much to dislike about 2015.
Putting to one side that most of the races were tragically processional and that competition for the championship was minimal, 2015’s greatest offence was that it was a limbo year for Formula One and its future direction.
As readers of this column would be well aware, few real-world domains could match the political ugliness of the Formula One paddock in 2015.
Last season Formula One had monopolies on reckless spending, legislative indecision, poor stakeholder engagement, and a total collapse in confidence.
Two teams had near-death experiences in 2015, and one was returned from the great beyond, albeit on life support for the first two rounds.
The European Commission was sufficiently moved by complaints lodged by two teams that it continues to weigh up whether to formally investigate the sport for anti-competitive offences.
The mood was grim and the outlook bleak, but from the ashes of such a turbulent season, lacking in hope though it was, the smallest of shoots sprouted into life.
Its name is Renault – or Renault Sport Formula One Team, for those formally inclined – and despite almost everything, it has thrown its hat into the Formula One ring, officially launching its 2016 entry last week in Paris.
The news should have motorsport fans doubly excited, because not only does another cashed-up manufacturer bode well for the future competitiveness of the championship, but the involvement of such a company – a company with a 20 per cent government share – is a massive tick for Formula One’s future.
Do not be mistaken into thinking that Renault’s entry into the sport is as flippant as any Formula One aspirant attempting to field a team or as a given as your favourite Formula One video being taken off YouTube.
Groupe Renault did its lengthy and detailed due diligence, so much so that it reportedly had a press release written to announce its total withdrawal from the sport at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Thankfully the company stayed its blade, convinced that its exacting requirements for investment would be met if it were to upgrade its involvement from engine manufacturer to fully-fledged manufacturer – and its bid cannot be considered as anything other than serious.
With Renault returns Bob Bell, technical architect to the Enstone team’s championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006 and to Mercedes’s 2014 domination of Formula One.
Frederic Vasseur, co-founder of ART Grand Prix, which won the constructors and drivers titles in GP2 and GP3 in 2015, will lead the team as racing director.
Kevin Magnussen has replaced Pastor Maldonado as partner to 2014 GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer, making the team’s line-up one of the season’s most interesting.
Small-change spend this is not. It’s a sizeable investment in Formula One as a motorsport platform.
“The decision to return to team ownership is based on a solid, well-considered business strategy that we firmly believe will bring long-term gains to Renault,” president Jerome Stoll said.
“Millions of Renault road users are already enjoying the benefits of turbocharging, greater fuel economy and highly sophisticated electrical vehicles that include improved powertrain architecture definition for efficiency optimisation.
“On the other side, F1 is a powerful marketing tool and one each of our markets will be able to dial into.”
The strength of Renault’s investment is that in its restructured Renault Sport division Formula One and Formula E are complimentary – both categories playing into Renault’s strategy of being on the cutting edge of motoring and motorsport.
This is precisely the space Formula One should be occupying and indeed must be occupying. It is still big and bold enough to be a serious marketing platform, and still relevant enough to sit alongside Formula E in any significant team’s motorsport arsenal.
“The benefits of F1 are undeniable: access to a large, worldwide TV and online audience, huge growth potential, access to developing markets, and fast-paced, dynamic competition with some of the world’s leading manufacturers,” Stoll confirmed.
This is the core of Formula One – competition between cars built by the world’s leading manufacturers, spurred by the best drivers. The rest follows.
Talk of regulatory overhauls and weekend reformats are sideshows, and whether the authorities had achieved them would have been meaningless regardless. The truest test of Formula One’s health is whether it can attract the likes of Renault and keep it engaged in the game.
Putting on a good show with competitive cars and quick drivers is all that matters. With Renault in the ring, we’re one step closer to pushing 2015 from our memories and to stepping into a brighter future.
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