Cyril François Roger Abiteboul (born 14 October 1977) is a French

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...

engineer and manager. From 2013 to 2014 he was the team principal of

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team, and was the managing director of the

Renault F1 Team The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engin ...

from 2014 to 2020.

Early and personal life

Abiteboul was educated at the

Lycée Carnot The Lycée Carnot is a public secondary and higher education school at 145 Boulevard Malesherbes in the 17th arrondissement, Paris, France. The Lycée Carnot was founded in 1869, first bearing the name of École Monge and then renamed in 1895. ...

and

Lycée Chaptal The Lycée Chaptal, formerly the Collège Chaptal, is a large secondary school in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, named after Jean-Antoine Chaptal, with about 2,000 pupils. It was taken over by the City of Paris in 1848 after the founder ran into ...

high schools in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, and went on to study multidisciplinary engineering at Grenoble Institute of Technology. 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. It is a vintage Renault logo on his right calf with a stylized

honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is liste ...

, Ricciardo's personal mascot.

Career

After graduating in 2001, Abiteboul joined

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

at Boulogne-Billancourt, looking after the Renault F1 website. He was made Business Development Manager for the

Renault F1 The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...

team in 2007 and went on to become executive director of Renault Sport F1 in 2010. He joined

Caterham F1 The Caterham F1 Team was a Malaysian, later British owned Formula One team based in the United Kingdom which raced under a Malaysian licence. The Caterham brand competed in the Formula One World Championship from to , following the acquisiti ...

Team in September 2012. He had previously worked with team partner

, 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 Anthony Francis Fernandes (born 30 April 1964) is a Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., which took over the first Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia. Fernandes turned AirAsia, a failing government-linked commerc ...

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

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...

engine supplier

Mecachrome Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company based in France that operates in the aerospace, motor racing, energy and defence sectors. History Mecachrome was founded in 1937 in Colombes, France. As a precision engineering company, Mecachrome ...

as their motorsport advisor. Abiteboul is set to join

Hyundai World Rally Team The Hyundai World Rally Team is a rally team competing in the World Rally Championship (WRC) as the official Hyundai entrant. Its team principal is Sean Kim, deputised by Julien Moncet and its drivers in 2022 include Thierry Neuville, Ott Tanak ...

as team principal in .

References

1977 births Living people French automotive engineers French motorsport people Formula One engineers Sportspeople from Paris Renault people French sports agents {{f1-bio-stub