Encouraging double entry into Q3 for Renault in Shanghai

The mechanics are still far from pushing a cocorico, but for Renault, the qualifying result of the Chinese Grand Prix of F1 enough to bring a smile back. The French team placed its two single-seaters in the top 10 in Shanghai, Saturday April 13, for the first time in the 2019 season. 

For the second time in a row, Daniel Ricciardo (7th), beat his teammate Nico Hulkenberg (8e). “I’m really happy with this result for the team,” said the Australian. This battle in the heart of the peloton is so close that one or two tenths of a second can change your entire weekend. So it was satisfying to come out on top. 

My last sector was a bit messy on my best lap in Q3, but I was happy to learn that we finished seventh. Tomorrow we will realistically want to stay in the top seven and see if we can go for sixth place. »

The winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans 2015 with Porsche a également le sourire. “It’s a great team result. The car offers good sensations while showing performance since the start of the weekend and we experienced trouble-free qualifying today. 

It was nice to enter Q2 with only one stint and I was happy with all my tricks. We knew it was going to be close and that’s exactly what happened. The most important thing is the team's result and we will really be able to attack from these places on the grid. Our race pace was competitive yesterday, overall looks good and we will aim for a double finish in the points », anticipates the German.

Behind this positivist speech, however, let us recall that Renault's initial objective is to get closer to the podium in 2019. However, the gap recorded in qualifying (almost a second and a half from pole, a second and a tenth from third time to Hag) remains very substantial, as large as at the end of 2018.