Renault Formula 1 team seals BP and Castrol deals for 2017
Renault will join McLaren in switching Formula 1 fuel suppliers to BP/Castrol in 2017, following months of speculation about its plans for the season ahead
Amid uncertainty at the end of the last year about previous partner Total's F1 involvement, Renault had been expected to switch to BP and Castrol for its fuel and lubricants.
McLaren is also expected to use the same products, but has not yet announced its intentions.
Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul believes the change of oil supplier could deliver a competitive advantage, with the higher drag developed by this year's new breed of cars.
"With the new aerodynamic regulations for the 2017 Formula 1 season, power sensitivity will increase," he said.
"Therefore fuels and lubricants will make an even greater difference to the overall performance of the car than they have since the new power unit regulations have been introduced in 2014.
"The teams at BP and Castrol are very excited by the challenges offered by Formula 1 and we are confident they will help us achieve our ambitions for our new car in 2017 and beyond."
The French manufacturer last worked with BP/Castrol during the 1997 season, when the Renault-powered Williams won the drivers' and constructors' championships.
Renault's switch to BP/Castrol means its engine department will be working with two fuel suppliers this year, following Red Bull's switch to McLaren's former partner Exxon/Mobil.
Speaking to Autosport's sister title Motorsport.com late last year, Abiteboul believed that having such a split approach could actually bring some benefit in promoting competition between the different companies.
"I always prefer simplicity because we have enough complexity to absorb, so it is better if it is only one," he said.
"But there are a number of engine suppliers who have been very successful in the past with two homologations.
"I would say also having two creates diversity, creates competition, creates inspiration - just like having different customer teams, Red Bull is a great inspiration for Enstone and a benchmark.
"Benchmarking is not unnecessary in the sport - but it means something in terms of operations, in terms of ring fencing IP because we want to protect IP of everyone we are working with, and it is completely fair.
"It is an extra concern but not something that is not achievable."
Wolff: New F1 owner Liberty Media shouldn't mess with current fans
Ross Brawn back in Formula 1: What we've learned so far
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Russell: Spa F1 flexi floor clampdown could bring Mercedes into the mix
George Russell hopes the flexi floor clampdown from the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix will bring Mercedes closer to the fight at the front against Ferrari and Red Bull.
F1 Dutch GP 2022: Last chance to be at the Orange Army’s big party
Sought-after tickets are still available for in-demand Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Shwartzman "excited" for Ferrari FP1 chances after F1 summer break
Robert Shwartzman says he is “a bit excited” for his Formula 1 race weekend debut with Ferrari later this season when he takes part in two practice sessions.
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbonfibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? PAT SYMONDS considers the alternatives to carbonfibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting
How Russell has proven he deserves to be Hamilton's Mercedes heir
He’s fast, he’s smart, and he’s already shown he’s not going to let Max Verstappen intimidate him. George Russell won’t say it, but LUKE SMITH says he’s ready to take the lead at Mercedes when Lewis Hamilton moves on to a quieter life. And – whisper it – Mercedes and Lewis are starting to think so too
The traits that fuelled Alonso's unexpected Aston Martin move
Fernando Alonso’s bombshell switch to Aston Martin sent shockwaves through Formula 1, not least at Alpine that finds itself tangled in a contract standoff with Oscar Piastri. Not shy of a bold career move and with a CV punctuated by them, there were numerous hints that trouble was brewing