THIS IS CYRIL ABITEBOUL

While Cyril Abiteboul is a regular character in our news pages by dint of his position at the head of one of Formula 1’s grandee teams – albeit one struggling to regain past glories – somehow six years have elapsed since F1 Racing sat down for a one-to-one interview with him. Then he was team principal of Caterham; now he’s in charge of superintending Renault’s return to championship glory.

That means he’s a busy man, but Cyril has found a one-hour window for us between meetings in Monaco, and we convene at his hotel, the Monte Carlo Bay, where the Blue Gin Bar is conveniently empty at this time of day – the sun not yet being past the yard arm…

F1 Racing: You were very much below the radar in F1 before you became the team principal at Caterham in 2012. What happened before then – what got you interested in motor racing, and how did you get your break?

Cyril Abiteboul: I was born and did most of my education in Paris. It was a good life, a good childhood. My parents were engineers in French industry. I was born and raised as, “You will be an engineer, my son. You will work in French industry.”

My dad was very keen on cars. Myself I loved cars, speed, anything that’s fast. From a push bike to whatever. As soon as I could stand on my own two feet I was trying to go as fast as possible. I loved sports. I loved competition.

I went into an engineering school in Grenoble, and basically in the last year of school you can graduate and share your time between the school and a company. By