News in brief
11 May 2020
A glimpse at other Renault Sport news from both the UK and elsewhere around the world…
Stars in COVID-19 message
Renault Sport partner Castrol has produced a fun educational video with a reminder of the importance of staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 60-minute clip, called ‘Hang up your key’, features a number of Castrol workers and motorsport stars.
These include Renault DP World F1 Team drivers Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo plus the likes of MotoGP hero Cal Crutchlow, World Rally and Rallycross legend Petter Solberg and DTM racer Nico Muller.
Virtual GP success for Renault drivers
Renault F1 has been having a good time of it in the official Formula 1 Virtual Grand Prix series with golfing superstar Ian Poulter becoming part of its driver line-up.
Renault Sport Academy driver, China’s Guanyu Zhou, won the opening Virtual GP around the Bahrain circuit in which Poulter was 15th.
Round two moved to the Melbourne circuit and Zhou’s fellow Academy driver, Christian Lundgaard, took a fine second position to Ferrari F1 racer Charles Leclerc.
The most recent race, on the Shanghai circuit, saw Zhou (again joined by Poulter) make it three podiums in results in three races as he took third after overtaking Williams F1 driver George Russell on the final lap.
CLICK on the links above to watch highlights.
F1 Team cuts back
Renault has ‘furloughed’ most of its UK-based F1 staff amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
“As of 1 April, the vast majority of Enstone staff will effectively have a total shutdown (furlough) until 31 May,” a team statement read.
The team also said it will top-up payments made by the government’s Job Retention Scheme to guarantee staff are continued to be paid a minimum of 80% of wages during the period.
Meanwhile, the team’s engine development department at Viry-Châtillon, France is working on a part-time basis through to potentially the end of July.
Situations at both sites will be monitored and adjusted if necessary.
