Renault in reverse gear as Formula One team slides into the red after spending big

Renault’s Formula One team reversed into the red last year after spending big in a bid to land lucrative win bonuses, it emerged today.

The Oxfordshire-based team fell from a £1 million pre-tax profit the previous year to a £7.8 million loss in 2018 driven by a boost in spending, accounts show.

Costs accelerated by £18.6 million to £152.3 million, outstripping a 7.6% rise in revenue to £146.6 million as it spent on hiring staff and improving its Chipping Norton factory.

The improvements paid off as the team finished fourth in the championship last year, its best result since Renault acquired it for £1 from the private equity firm Genii at the end of 2015. However, it still has a long road ahead.

Renault was tempted by the prospect of getting a bonus of around

$22 million (£18 million) if it wins back-to-back F1 championships and at least 22 races in the course of doing so.

So far it hasn’t won a single race but it is going in the right direction. Its best race result since returning to F1 came at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix when Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo, pictured, finished in fourth place.

Ricciardo joined the team this season on an estimated £22 million annual salary, which will drive its costs up even more.