Renault is planning to recruit 160 new staff over the next two years in its bid to return to the top in Formula 1, according to Ian Parkes of AUTOSPORT. The French manufacturer has taken over a Lotus team short on personnel "in the wake of a swathe of redundancies forced upon it" after making "staggering losses" in '13 of almost £65M. Asked how many new staff had been taken on since Renault confirmed its return as a works team in December, Managing Dir Cyril Abiteboul said, "Very few for now. We want to make sure we recruit good people, and usually good people are not available very quickly because they have to be placed on gardening leave, and you can't get them for six months, or sometimes a year. Right now we have 490 people in Enstone. The plan is to grow to 650 by the end of 2017." With Renault back in F1 as a manufacturer in its own right, "and not just an engine supplier, Abiteboul is convinced it will be able to recruit strong people from its rivals." Abiteboul: "To attract people from competitors you need to have a story. Now there is a landmark to start telling the story about Renault, the plans, the management, the financial resources, the partners, the long-term prospects" (AUTOSPORT, 2/15).
