Abiteboul grew up in Paris, where he was educated at the Lycée Carnot and Lycée Chaptal. He went on to study multidisciplinary engineering at the Grenoble Institute of Technology, graduating in 2001.
After graduating, Abiteboul joined Renault at Boulogne-Billancourt, where his first assignment was managing the Renault F1 website. He advanced steadily through the organisation, becoming Business Development Manager for the Renault F1 team in 2007 and then executive director of Renault Sport F1 in 2010. His decade with the Renault structure gave him deep experience across commercial, technical, and operational functions of a works Formula One programme.
In September 2012 Abiteboul joined the Caterham F1 Team, at the time working alongside team partner Renault in his previous capacity as Deputy Managing Director of Renault Sport F1. On 8 November 2012 he was appointed team principal, succeeding Tony Fernandes in the role. He led Caterham through the 2013 season until his departure was announced in July 2014.
Renault confirmed Abiteboul's return as managing director of Renault Sport F1 in July 2014. He oversaw the team's engine supply programme and the rebuilding of its works operation through the remainder of the decade. He remained in the role until the end of 2020, when the team was rebranded as Alpine F1 Team and he departed the organisation.
During the 2020 season Abiteboul made a public bet with driver Daniel Ricciardo: if Ricciardo achieved a podium finish with the Renault works team, Abiteboul would receive a tattoo. Ricciardo finished third at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, and Abiteboul subsequently had a vintage Renault logo and a stylised honey badger — Ricciardo's personal mascot — tattooed on his right calf. The episode attracted wide attention as an unusual moment of levity between a team principal and a driver.
In May 2021 Abiteboul joined Formula 2 engine supplier Mecachrome as a motorsport advisor. In 2023 he moved to rallying, taking up the role of team principal of the Hyundai World Rally Team. Before the end of 2023 he was additionally appointed president of Hyundai Motorsport, giving him overall responsibility for the manufacturer's global competition activities.
Abiteboul's career traces a path from digital communications at a manufacturer website to the presidency of one of the sport's leading rally outfits. His two decades at the top of motorsport management — through engine supply politics, backmarker team recovery projects, and manufacturer works programmes — make him one of the more widely experienced executives of his generation. The Ricciardo tattoo bet remains one of the best-known human-interest moments of the hybrid-era Formula One paddock.
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