Abiteboul: Renault had discussions with McLaren

Cyril Abiteboul confirmed at a press conference in the paddock of the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps that Renault had discussions with McLaren in the event of replacing Honda. The British structure is considering all options, suffering from a lack of performance and reliability with the Japanese Power Unit.

“We have contracts over several years with Red Bull Racing et Toro Rosso and we are therefore open to discussions. I can confirm that there have been discussions with McLaren. There are nevertheless limits with the regulations if we want to motorize more than 3 teams. Furthermore, I don't think it would be reasonable to think that we could power more than 3 teams without harming our level of service.", explains Cyril Abiteboul.

Cyril Abiteboul also spoke about Renault's prospects for its drivers for the 2018 season, with Jolyon Palmer's future continuing to raise questions.

“It is understood that Nico (Hulkenberg) has a contract over several years while Jo’s is only in effect for one season, recalls Cyril Abiteboul. We have to make a decision on a driver for next year. We must pay attention to deadlines because the market is racing, particularly with the different announcements from McLaren and Ferrari this weekend (with the extension of Stoffel Vandoorne and Kimi Räikkönen). I expect more announcements soon as these things are rarely isolated. »