Renault has moved to defend its approach for Marcin Budkowski amid complaints from rival teams that it would be unfair for the former F1 technical department head to join an F1 team just three months after leaving his position at the governing body.
Budkowski handed in his resignation to the FIA last month and has therefore been placed on a three-month period of gardening leave. However after that, it’s expected he will join Renault.
Rival teams have expressed anger at the length of the leave – believing it should be a minimum of 12 months – due to the sensitive information Budkowski was given access to during his time at the FIA.
Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has defended the decision to approach Budkowski, insisting the team aren’t in F1 to make friends and are in serious need of a boost if it’s to bridge the gap to the frontrunners.
“We want to be one of the top teams by 2020,” the Frenchman told Sky Sports. “[But] if you look at the gap between the midfield and the top teams, it is a big jump, and that is why we need to be aggressive in what we do to be there by 2020.
“In this sport you are not here to make friends. Obviously there are ways to do things, and anything we do in terms of recruitment – not necessarily Marcin – we need to grow, Enstone needs badly to grow.
“When we took the place it was 475 people, it is now 620 people. There is no secret that those people need to come from somewhere, and we have to go chasing from some of the other teams.”
Abiteboul however insists Renault will be “fair” and they will be careful to avoid any potential intellectual property conflicts.
“Renault has a very clear track record of being extremely fair and loyal,” he added. “So whatever we will do, we will make sure that it is done in a very loyal way and a very fair way to our competitors.”