Will Renault stay loyal, secure a team leader, or opt for the rising star? The runners and riders for an F1 seat with huge potential
Thursday 8 September 2016 13:52, UK
Renault are keen to announce their 2017 driver line-up this month and as a team with the allure of manufacturer backing, they will have plenty of admirers.
With plenty of teams yet to confirm their drivers for next season, the Enstone team may hold the key for the driver market with Frederic Vasseur admitting they are eyeing a "leader" for next season.
So who and what are Renault's options?
The incumbents: Palmer and Magnussen
It has been a tough first year back in F1 for Renault and Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer have understandably struggled in an under-performing RS16. They are desperate for another season with the team but both face uncertain futures, with Vasseur's desire for an experienced driver evident.
Magnussen has generally out-performed Palmer, scoring the team's only point of a disappointing campaign and looks the likelier candidate to stay on.
As for Palmer, the need to make an impression before Renault's decision has become urgent. It has been a rocky road in 2016 for the F1 rookie, with crashes and mistakes blighting his campaign.
Searching for a team 'leader': Bottas, Perez or Sainz?
"If you look at the success stories of the past, success was always built around a driver," Vasseur told the official F1 website. "Schumacher and Ferrari, Vettel and Red Bull, Lewis and Mercedes, and also Alonso and Renault in the past - so the driver is important. A driver is not only about performance, but about being capable of leading a team. We need a driver who is super-motivated and able to super-motivate everybody else."
Who fits that bill, you ask? According to the Finnish press, Valtteri Bottas has offers both to extend at Williams and from Renault for 2017, and the 27-year-old has the experience and talent to lead a team. However, while Bottas is more likely to stay put, Force India's Sergio Perez, who has enjoyed a fine season, could be the potential team leader top of Renault's list.
Perez has a burning ambition to become world champion and there is little to no chance in him ever achieving that at Force India. Although the team have previously implied he will be staying, the Mexican spent the summer break considering his future with his many sponsors, and Perez has reputedly already held talks with Renault - a team he described as "an interesting option".
"I've made up my mind, I know what I want to do hopefully we can succeed on that," Perez told Sky Sports News HQ at the German GP.
Carlos Sainz would also be a sensational coup but the highly-rated Spaniard is under contract for 2017 and Renault would face a hefty fee to prise him away. "It can only be positive to be linked to the top teams like Ferrari and Renault," Sainz told Sky F1 earlier this year. "In the end manufacturer teams are always positive to be linked to."
The young gun: Esteban Ocon
Currently two races into his F1 career with Manor, Esteban Ocon has a number of factors on his side as he bids for the Renault seat.
Ocon, who is a member of the Mercedes young driver programme, knows the team inside out having been their reserve driver this season, taking part in four practice sessions, and there's the understandable appeal of Renault signing a French driver for a French team. No wonder, then, that Renault will be interested observers of how Ocon performs through the rest of the year.
"Esteban will be up against a highly rated and quick team-mate, which will enable us to evaluate him in a representative environment," Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul said. "I hope this experience will be of great benefit for him and for Renault in the near future."
Stoffel Vandoorne had also been a possibility, but McLaren confirmed at Monza that he will be replacing Jenson Button in 2017.
The outsider: The well-back Nasr
According to reports in his home country, Felipe Nasr met with acting President of Brazil during the summer break in a bid to secure a Renault seat in 2017.
The Sauber driver was forced to deny he was visiting Michel Temer to take a side in his country's political situation, but O Globo instead claim that he was accompanied not only by his manager Steve Robertson, but also an official of the Brazilian state Parana. Renault have a road car factory in Parana and O Globo report that 'Nasr was asking Temer for help in trying to convince Renault to hire him for the 2017 season'.
Nasr could certainly bring funding and may be looking to leave Sauber - but a move to Renault still seems unlikely.
