Talks between McLaren and Renault have gone "very quiet" according to the French manufacturer, despite reports the British squad will ditch Honda and switch to Renault power for the 2018 season.
McLaren is set to make a final decision regarding its divorce with Honda in September as the Japanese manufacturer struggles to get on top of its performance issues.
It has sounded out deals with all three rival manufacturers, but has been rebuffed by both Ferrari and Mercedes, leaving only Renault as an alternative.
But Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul, although confirming talks have taken place, says they have now gone "very quiet" amid speculation McLaren will continue with Honda.
"I can confirm that there has been discussion with McLaren," he said on Friday.
However Abiteboul believes another customer deal would need to be carefully considered, given it could harm Renault's current deals with Red Bull and Toro Rosso.
"Right now there is a restriction in the regulation, if we wanted to supply more than three teams first. And in addition to that, I don’t think it would be reasonable to believe that we could supply more than three without degrading the level of service, the quality of the service for the other teams, so we’ve had discussions.
"Frankly, again, we have contracts in place. We value the relationship with Red Bull. It’s a longstanding relationship and we would like to carry this relationship until it’s term in 2020 but if there is something to be done, why not, but right now understand that things are very quiet and certainly we are not necessarily proactively pushing for anything."
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