Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul says speculation surrounding Jolyon Palmer's place at the team for the remainder of the year is “unfair” on the Briton, amid the squad’s decision to replace him for 2018.
Renault sounded out alternatives last year before ultimately retaining Palmer for 2017, though he has yet to score a point this season, nor out-qualify team-mate Nico Hülkenberg.
As part of the engine merry-go-round, Renault has signed Carlos Sainz Jr. on loan from Red Bull for 2018 to partner Hülkenberg, leaving Palmer out in the cold.
Rumours continue to circulate that Sainz Jr.’s Renault debut could come as early as the next event in Malaysia, though Abiteboul was reluctant to discuss such a possibility.
“You know I want to talk about realities,” Abiteboul explained to Motorsport Week’s sister publication Motorsport Monday.
“The reality is that Carlos will be in the car in Melbourne in 2018.
“Obviously your question [about Sainz Jr. joining Renault this year] makes reference to the situation of Jolyon Palmer.
“It’s a speculation that we – him and the team – have had to live with for… I don’t know how many races.
“Frankly it’s really difficult on Jo and a bit unfair on Jo and the team and to a certain degree, it maybe has had a negative impact on his ongoing performance.
“Right now, what I see is that we have a car that is capable of scoring points in Singapore.
“That’s the focus and we have an ongoing contract with Jo until the end of the season.”
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner added: “We’ve lent Carlos out to Renault from 2018.
“We’ve retained him within the Red Bull family because obviously we rate him as a driver very highly.
“We will be very interested to see how he performs against Nico.
“I think any speculation prior to that is very much Renault’s business.”
