Force India an example to follow - Abiteboul

Renault boss team boss Cyril Abiteboul reiterated his respect for Force India and believes that they are an 'example to follow' with the way they impress on the track despite having significantly less resources than other teams such as Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes - the only outfits who finished ahead of them in 2017.

Force India has one of the smallest budgets in all of Formula One, but have finished fourth in consecutive seasons ahead of the likes of McLaren and Williams.

Abiteboul says that he 'continues to have huge respect for' Force India due to their overachieving, even though he has previously said that Renault should 'easily' be beating teams like this.

"Frankly I think my words were wrongly represented because I've always had huge respect for Force India and continue to have huge respect for Force India," Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

"That respect is only greater after 2017. They have shown that with very limited resources they've been capable of generating huge performance.

"This is on the back of a great driver line-up, and also on the back of what is still the best power unit in the field.

"There is absolutely no magic. They are also showing that this stability they have demonstrated over the years is what is giving them the capacity to be extremely efficient from a cost perspective.

"For me, it's an example to follow, and has always been an example to follow, but I want us to be in a position to fight with them next year. That will be an achievement, if we are capable of overtaking them in the championship."