Formula One

By James Foxall

21st October 2006

	Even though Renault has been the team to beat for two seasons, Dassas won’t commit the car maker beyond the medium term

Renault and Fernando Alonso go into Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix as odds-on favourites to win second consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ world championships. And for Alain Dassas, the man who persuaded the French firm’s boss that Formula One was a good idea, it will be particularly satisfying.

Although not a high-profile figure in the grand prix paddock, the 53-year-old is key to Renault’s F1 success. An accountant by trade, he worked on the company’s buyout of the Benetton squad back in 2001.

Then, when Carlos Ghosn took over at the helm last year, he asked Dassas – a close ally within Renault – to compile a report on whether the firm should be involved in F1 at all. Ghosn, not known for being a motorsport fan, was doubtful that the multi-million pound annual investment was actually worthwhile. “I concluded it was, but that we have to make the most it,” said Dassas, a bookish chap who looks more like a civil servant than an F1 team chief.

He added: “Obviously, I was helped by our results last year. But I think we need to explain more what we are doing to the public. We should decrease costs without harming performance, but also make more of a link with our road cars. We will introduce a small sports-car and use our F1 image to sell it.”

Renault’s F1 results might be world class at the moment, but the sport is renowned for being fickle. And next year, it loses one of its biggest assets: champion Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard is a big fan of Dassas, and has paid tribute to the Frenchman’s role in his rise on more than occasion. “In this team we are one,” he said. “The success is shared by all of us.”

Alonso’s departure will hit Dassas hard, but the Frenchman insisted he’s come to terms with it. “Fernando had a better offer. It’s a loss and we’ll miss him, but it’s done now,” he reflected. He was, however, more forthcoming about his replacement, Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen. “It’s not the first time we’ve had a young driver. (Alonso had only a season’s experience when he first drove for Renault). We know Heikki is quick. The team senses a challenge and will respond to that.”

But when asked about Giancarlo Fisichella, Dassas clammed up again, only saying: “I had no limit on the budget to find a driver to replace Alonso.” The implication is that he doesn’t regard the Italian as number one driver material. He’s more impressed with the parallel teams that run in Enstone, Oxfordshire, and Viry-Chatillon, France, working on Renault’s chassis and engines. Dassas said: “They think only about winning. The first time I looked around Enstone, I said it’s important we are in the top three. They said: ‘No, we want to be the number one.’ Team spirit is key. In the past we’ve had conflict between them. Now everybody pulls together.”

Even though Renault has been the team to beat for two seasons, Dassas won’t commit the car maker beyond the medium term. He admitted: “Renault F1 will be there in 2012. We want to build on the results.” And he’s keen for the sport to expand its boundaries. “We are already well known in Europe. F1 is a good tool to get your name established in other countries. I’d love races in South Africa and Russia,” he said.

And although Renault will be in-volved, he wouldn’t confirm in what capacity; whether it would be there as a full blown team or just as an engine supplier. The latter is something it knows all about from years of success with Williams and then Benetton, and next season it will be supplying either Red Bull Racing or Scuderia Toro Rosso with power. “To replace a Ferrari engine (in the Red Bull) would be satisfying, so I would prefer our engine to be in the Red Bull than the Toro Rosso,” he said.

And Dassas is keen that F1 gets a grip on its rules. Renault suffered at the hands of governing body, the FIA, earlier this year when its innovative mass dampers were outlawed. “I did not like it,” he said. “We tried everything to get the decision changed, but couldn’t.

“I believe the rules should change to be stricter and cut down on costs. Some teams wanted to spend millions. We want to reduce costs and stop the arms race.”

That’s unlikely to help Renault main- tain its twin world crowns at the end of 2007. Dassas smiled the smile of someone who is resigned to that: “If we are number two for one year, that’s fine,” he grinned. And you can rest assured that prospect won’t stop him celebrating with Alonso on Sunday!