Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul has sent a warning shot to Daniel Ricciardo after his start incident at the Australian Grand Prix.
The local favourite had his race effectively ended before it had barely started as he ran onto the grass trying to pass Sergio Perez and lost his front wing after hitting a service road between the pit-lane and the grid.
While it was an unfortunate moment of bad luck, Abiteboul came down strong on his new driver with a rather bizarre rant.
“It’s not that he underestimated it, but as a midfield team we do not operate in the same way as a top team,” he began to France’s Auto Hebdo.
“Maybe he will have to get a harder skin and some more patience at the start. I am absolutely not panicked. He is an intelligent boy.
“In Bahrain we will have a more traditional circuit with more room at the sides.”
Having lost so much time, it was later decided to retire his car leaving Ricciardo to rue his poor luck in Melbourne.
Renault did at least score some points though, as Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh after chasing the Haas of Kevin Magnussen for the entire afternoon.
