30/07/2018
NEWS STORY
While the drivers' championship might have lost some of its 'needle' over the last couple of weeks, it's good to see there is still some competitive edginess in the paddock.
Following Christian Horner's (latest) criticism of Renault following Max Verstappen's retirement from yesterday's Hungarian Grand Prix, Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has hit back.
"I am not going to get drawn into saying too much," Horner told Sky Sports following Verstappen's retirement, "but we pay multi-millions of pounds for these engines, for a first-class product, a state-of-the-art product, and you can see it is quite clearly some way below that.
"So it is frustrating," he added. "That is what it is. We still have Daniel in the race and I will let Cyril come up with his excuses afterwards."
Reacting to Horner's comment, Abiteboul told Autosport: "Our bosses have stopped reading what Christian Horner is saying about us since 2015.
"It's very clear that we don't want to have any dealings with them anymore. It's very clear it's done.
"They will have their engine partner that will be paying a hell of a lot of money to get their product on board, and I wish them good luck," he added, referring to the Austrian outfit's switch to Honda next season. "I have nothing else to say."
With nine rounds of the 2018 season remaining, one cannot help but feel that things will get a lot messier by the time we leave Abu Dhabi.