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Renault team principal Frederic Vasseur has said that the team could make its long awaited driver decision next month.
The returning works team has yet to give any indication of who will drive for the team next year, with Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Felipe Massa, and current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer all reportedly on the team's shortlist.
Despite the long list of drivers linked with the team and their current pairing's lack of points this year, Vasseur insists that both Magnussen and Palmer could be retained.
"I see both of them improving. Keep in mind that Jo [Palmer] is a rookie and Kevin did only one season before," Vasseur told the official Formula One website. "Jo has been improving a lot – true he spun in Hungary, but so far he did a good job. And that also goes for Kevin. Both have a very optimistic approach. They are a good support for the team."
Vasseur asaid that whoever drives for the team next season, they are seeking someone to lead the line in similar fashion to past champions.
"If you look at the success stories of the past, success was always built around a driver," he said. "[Michael] Schumacher and Ferrari, [Sebastian] Vettel and Red Bull, Lewis [Hamilton] and Mercedes, and also [Fernando] Alonso and Renault in the past – so the driver is important."
"A driver is not only about performance, but about being capable of leading a team," he continued. "Right now we have more or less a thousand people in the team, if you take Viry-Châtillon and Enstone together, and that needs some sort of emotional leadership – and that is the job for a driver!"
"We need a driver who is super-motivated and able to super-motivate everybody else."
When pressed for an answer as to when the team may decide its driver lineup, Vasseur said: "It is too early to make any decision. We will probably do it at the beginning of September."
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