Cyril Abiteboul
Abiteboul in 2020
Born (1977-10-14) 14 October 1977 (age 46)
Paris, France
EducationEngineer
Alma materGrenoble ENSEEG
Occupation(s)Motorsport Advisor
Managing Director
Team Principal
Years active2001–present
Employer(s)Hyundai Motorsport (2023–present)
Mecachrome (2021–2022)
Renault F1 Team (2014–2020)
Caterham F1 (2013–2014)

Cyril François Roger Abiteboul (born 14 October 1977)[1] is a French motor racing engineer and manager. He has served as the team principal of Hyundai Motorsport since 2023. From 2013 to 2014 he was the team principal of Caterham Formula One team, and was the managing director of the Renault F1 Team from 2014 to 2020.

Early and personal life

Abiteboul was educated at the Lycée Carnot and Lycée Chaptal high schools in Paris, and went on to study multidisciplinary engineering at Grenoble Institute of Technology.[2]

Abiteboul has one tattoo, as a result of a lost bet with Daniel Ricciardo, where he would get a tattoo if Ricciardo was able to achieve a podium finish, which he did, finishing 3rd in the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix.[3] It is a vintage Renault logo on his right calf with a stylized honey badger, Ricciardo's personal mascot.

Career

After graduating in 2001, Abiteboul joined Renault at Boulogne-Billancourt, looking after the Renault F1 website. He was made Business Development Manager for the Renault F1 team in 2007 and went on to become executive director of Renault Sport F1 in 2010.

He joined Caterham F1 Team in September 2012.[4] He had previously worked with team partner Renault, where he was Deputy Managing Director of Renault Sport F1. On 8 November 2012, Abiteboul was appointed as team principal of Caterham, taking the place of Tony Fernandes.[5]

In July 2014, after Abiteboul's departure from Caterham had been announced,[6] Renault confirmed his return as managing director of Renault Sport F1.[7] He left Renault as the racing team rebranded to Alpine in 2021.[8]

In May 2021, Abiteboul joined Formula 2 engine supplier Mecachrome as their motorsport advisor.[9][10]

Abiteboul joined Hyundai World Rally Team as team principal in 2023.[11] He was appointed as the president of Hyundai Motorsport at the end of the year.[12]

References

  1. ^ Codling, Stuart (June 2013). "In profile: Cyril Abiteboul". F1 Racing. Haymarket (208): 95. ISSN 1361-4487.
  2. ^ "Répertoire des Ingénieurs et des Scientifiques". repertoire.iesf.fr. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  3. ^ "A Bet's a Bet | No Brakes Ep 9 Presented by Optus". YouTube.
  4. ^ Benson, Andrew. "Singapore GP: Caterham's Tony Fernandes announces shake-up". BBC, 21 September 2012. Retrieved on 25 May 2013.
  5. ^ Benson, Andrew. "Caterham name 35-year-old Cyril Abiteboul as team principal". BBC, 8 November 2012. Retrieved on 25 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Renault confirmed Abiteboul's return". 3 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Cyril Abiteboul: Managing Director". Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Renault announce shock departure of F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul ahead of Alpine rebrand". www.formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  9. ^ "Ex-Renault boss Abiteboul joins motorsport engineering firm Mecachrome as advisor". Formula 1. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Ex-Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul joins F2 engine supplier Mecachrome". Formula Scout. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  11. ^ Barry, Luke; Evans, David (6 December 2022). "Abiteboul will become Hyundai's new team principal". dirtfish.com. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Abiteboul appointed President of Hyundai Motorsport". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
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