Abiteboul denies Renault were aiming for the top three

Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul has fought back against the criticism of his team after a very disappointing start to the season.

Renault are sitting in eighth in the constructors’ standings, ahead of just Toro Rosso and Williams, and expectations of the French outfit was much higher before the season.

When asked by Spanish publication SoyMotor about a top three finish, Abiteboul replied: “No, I never said that.

“This year the objective is very clear. It may be people from my organisation who said that, but never me.

“People always ask when we will do podiums, but podiums in simple conditions are not possible this year.

“We would like to, but if you look at how things are in Formula 1, there has never been so much stability in the winners of the races. Since 2014, only on a couple of occasions has another team has been on the podium.

“We all agree that there is a big problem in Formula 1, but it is not a problem just for Renault, but for Formula 1.”