Renault knows about outspokenness Alonso in the past: "We've discussed it"

That reveals Renault team boss in conversation with BBC Sport: "We discussed that. It's also one of the reasons why it was important for him to take a year off, to walk away from the sport," says the Frenchman, who is standing up for his new driver. "You know, let's not underestimate how ruthless, how toxic F1 can be."

In 2013, Alonso, at that time in possession of a contract at Ferrari, announced on television that he would like to have another car as a birthday present. Two years later, as a McLaren driver onboard radio, he said that Honda's power unit felt like a GP2 engine.

Abiteboul sees that as a human reaction. "No matter how hard you work, how hard you try, how good you think you are, sometimes it is just not possible. And I think that is what at some point burns out every one of us except maybe Toto (Wolff) and Mercedes and Lewis (Hamilton). And doing this sort of break is the best guarantee that these things will not happen again," he refers to Alonso's two-year sabbatical.