JANUARY 11, 2017

Team boss Vasseur leaves Renault

Team boss Frederic Vasseur has left Renault.

Team boss Frederic Vasseur has left Renault.

There have been signs of political unrest inside the French works team for months, with Kevin Magnussen suggesting it is one of the reasons he decided to leave for Haas.

"I feel like I've been unlucky in formula one to hit two teams (McLaren and Renault) that were having a bit of a mess with their leadership," he told the Danish newspaper BT.

Now, the UK-based team says Frenchman Vasseur and Renault have split "by mutual consent".

But in a statement, Renault seemed to address speculation about problems between Vasseur and fellow Frenchman Cyril Abiteboul, who remains managing director.

"Both parties (Vasseur and Renault) remain committed to maintaining the good working relationship they have enjoyed and expect this to take a new form sometime in the future," said Renault.

The carmaker said more "detail" about Renault's second season since returning to F1 as a full works team will be forthcoming next month.

(GMM)