Renault lacking recognition
While Renault has been associated as an engine supplier with the three championship doubles achieved by Red Bull in recent years, the French manufacturer finds itself frustrated by the lack of external recognition for its performances.
In 2010, 2011, and 2012, Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, and Renault won all the world titles in drivers and constructors. But despite this sporting success, the French engine manufacturer seems unable to capitalize on this winner’s image to enhance its visibility from a marketing and advertising perspective.
This is confirmed by Carlos Tavares, the CEO of the diamond brand, to the magazine Autocar: « We are frustrated by the lack of recognition we receive for beating Ferrari and Mercedes. It’s true, I think we deserve better. »
The exploitation of these victories and this image of success doesn’t seem to be a priority for Renault, as Tavares points out: « But a large part of this problem must lie with our marketing team. We clearly need to create a buzz around what we are achieving. We are world champions, we are able to sell our engines to other teams because of this, but we don’t have enough recognition beyond that. »
Since the partnership between Renault and Infiniti (the luxury brand of the Nissan manufacturer, acquired by the diamond brand), it is the latter’s logo that appears most prominently on the Red Bull car bodies and in the official team name. This is one of the explanations put forward by Tavares to try to understand the decline in Renault’s image over the past three years.
