Abiteboul: “We all had tears in our eyes” when Hülkenberg was released

The supporters of Renault imitated the gestures of Nico Hulkenberg, disappointed, during the 2019 German Grand Prix. On home soil, the wearer of number 27 had a golden opportunity to score crucial points in the fight for the Manufacturers' classification. However, a trip off the track at an average speed dashed his hopes, in the same place as Charles Leclerc ou Lewis Hamilton : 

Cyril Abiteboul, General Manager of the French team, spoke exclusively to our reporter F1 to take stock of this disappointing race (zero points with the retirement of Daniel Ricciardo). “It’s a hard sport, very hard. We could have shed some nice light on a season which is very complicated for us. This could have been very encouraging. Now, honestly, what we need is a faster car. Quite simply. 

We must not rely on a wet race to achieve a result every two years. The last test in the wet dates back to 2017 (Singapore) ; we are not going to wait until 2021 to say to ourselves “Hey, maybe we will consider achieving a decent result”, he says.

Concerning Nico Hülkenberg's exit from the track, Cyril Abiteboul first draws the positive points. “It would have given some pep, it would have been nice to talk about it at the coffee machine tomorrow (Monday). We would have gone on vacation with a little more energy. It would have been a very nice gift to Nico (Hülkenberg). 

These final seconds overwhelm the rest of the weekend, with a magnificent Q2 from Nico. His start was extraordinary, he has real racing intelligence. There is a real dialogue with his engineer Mark Slade on the radio. » 

The Frenchman also pays tribute to the work of the “pitwall”, which had placed Nico Hülkenberg in second place for a while in perilous conditions. “The pit wall made all the right decisions at the right time. He was better than the others. We are the only ones who have not fallen into the trap of wanting to stop too soon. All of this is extremely annoying. There is enormous frustration. »

Could we talk about a “Nico Hülkenberg case”? The German has never bagged a podium since his arrival in F1 in 2010, and this is not the first time that such an opportunity has slipped under his nose (he led the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix before losing). hang with Lewis Hamilton). 

“We all had tears in our eyes. It's very hard to climb like that so quickly, before diving back down. Let's be honest, this comes at an important time for discussions for the future. We are considering our options for the future. He knows it. This is something that comes into play.

It is a human, even sentimental, element because Nico has been with us for three years now », recalls Cyril Abiteboul. Before revealing two textbook cases which reveal a certain excitement in the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2015. 

« First, Q3. He had a magnificent Q2, but he was unable to repeat his time. I also felt when he returned to the pits at the end of Q2 that it was going to be difficult for him, when he saw that it was very close with the other drivers. 

Urban artist we have the impression that when something reaches out to him, whether it's sixth place or something else, it escapes him. He sabotages himself. Does he psychoanalytically want to work on this point? He doesn't want it. We talked about it a little because it concerns us. But with so many positives on the side, we can't blame him for this whole round either.", he analyzes. 

Finally, on a technical level, the Renault RS19 is not really satisfactory. “What matters today is the degree of improvement in the aerodynamics of our car, which is absolutely not at the level of our expectations. »

Find it in AUTO issue 2227hebdo analysis of F1 in Germany by our special correspondents, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.