Renault team principal Eric Boullier has accepted Vitaly Petrov's apology for his post-race comments in Abu Dhabi.

The Russian driver reportedly criticised the lack of progress made by the team in 2011 just minutes after stepping out of the car last weekend.

However, Boullier and Renault have accepted Petrov's written apology and say the matter is now closed.

"The race was tough, he was upset not to have scored points, he was exhausted. Drivers are not robots, they're human beings. Also, like every driver, Vitaly is a competitor. Had he been on the podium in Abu Dhabi, he would have complained about not winning the race," Boullier said.

"We take this incident as exactly this - an incident. Vitaly has apologised to the team and sent an email to all the staff at Enstone. As far as we are concerned, the matter is closed."

The team are currently fifth in the constructors' world championships with just one race left of the 2011 season in Brazil.