Jolyon Palmer may have been dropped by Renault but the French manufacturer still believes in his talent with Cyril Abiteboul saying he deserved a “world class championship” drive.

Struggling for the second successive season to score points, Palmer was dropped by Renault ahead of the 2017 United States GP in favour of Carlos Sainz.

The move signalled the end of the Brit’s time in Formula 1 while as yet there has been no news about a possible 2018 drive in another series.

Renault, though, reckon that whatever is next for Palmer should see the former GP2 champion racing in a “world class” series.