Nico Hülkenberg: A potential that did not materialize

A first double finish in the points in Canada, a double points total in a single Grand Prix: Renault carried out an encouraging accounting operation in Montreal almost two weeks ago, after a start to the 2019 campaign far from the expectations of the Losange management.

After solving its engine reliability concerns, Renault now intends to increase the performance of its V6 turbo/hybrid Power Unit, a parameter which has never been absent according to Nico Hulkenberg. “The work always bears fruit,” recalls the former pilot Williams.

It was good to see a great collective effort leading to an excellent final result (in Canada). We had underperformed in previous meetings, sometimes due to technical faults or human errors. I feel like we always had this potential, but it just wasn't coming to fruition.

We finally had a clean and linear weekend to score big points. I hope this will be the turning point of our season. We have some new developments for this race and I can't wait to take advantage of them, with the hope that they will improve the performance of the car to help us close the gap with the leading teams. We have a good team, performing regularly, so I am optimistic for Paul Ricard. »

The objective of 4th place remains relevant

Canada's result allowed Renault to make a serious comeback in the Manufacturers' championship standings, two small points behind McLaren, customer team of the French entity for the supply of engine blocks. And the brand intends not to stop there to comply with the objectives set at the start of the year.

“We have a good foundation, but we recognize that there is much more to do and much more to come. underlines Rémi Taffin, technical director in charge of the engine. However, we can say that we were satisfied in Montreal to be exactly where we were aiming: “best of the rest”.

Montreal is a very “motor” circuit, hence a certain satisfaction to see these good performances. For the first time this season, we were able to work on a high-performance unit throughout the weekend.

We now need to repeat this and we have a great opportunity to display the same level of competitiveness for our home race in France. We have finally launched our season, but we still have a lot of work to do. We want to regain fourth place and distance the peloton. »

In 2018, Renault placed its two single-seaters in the top 10 at Castellet. A similar result therefore seems the “hoped minimum” for the “yellow and black” this weekend.