Team principal Cyril Abiteboul recognises now that the words of Ghosn, who has long departed the scene in light of his financial misdemeanours, were too bold.
“The general message given at the time was that Renault was not returning to Formula 1 to make up the numbers, and that's still the case, with the way we project ourselves,” remarked Abiteboul.
“We would never have invested, the way we have done in people, facilities, equipment and technology if we were only here to be part of the midfield.
“Everything we've done has been in the direction of saying this statement was the right statement. It was a vision, a direction in which we wanted to go.
“But yes, people don't forget, and you immediately create discomfort within the group, the team, of me as a team principal, towards those words.
“In fairness, for transparency, sticking up a clear road map of that vision was maybe not the thing to do.
“To come into this sport, that remains the pinnacle of motorsport when you've been out of the competition for a period of time and you are up against teams that have grown up to become amazing rivals that are Red Bull or Mercedes, there should have been more humility. What was said was a bit over-ambitious.
“When you commit to a programme like this, you also need to be aspirational about the target.”