Hulkenberg criticises Renault development as Haas close in

Renault’s lead over Haas in the Constructors’ Championship has been closing for a while now as they battle it out in the race for P4.

The French team has held the position for most of the season, but Haas have been scoring points more frequently, especially since Romain Grosjean’s rejuvenated form.

Both teams have been outperformed in the last five races by the rebranded Racing Point Force India team, but it looks very unlikely that they will challenge for P4, but it has left Renault and Haas often battling for the lower points-paying positions, which could provide an advantage to Renault.

Nico Hulkenberg in particular has struggled recently. The German has only managed one point in the last six races, having scored 52 in the previous 11 rounds.

Hulkenberg, who will face a stiff test next year partnering Daniel Ricciardo at the team, blames the development of his car for the downturn in form.

He said: “I think we’ve just been a little bit slow on the development side, and we didn’t bring enough on the car to stay in that position, unfortunately.

“We’re still in fourth position now, but it’s going to be a tough fight until the end.

“We’ll obviously throw everything into the mix that we have but it’s definitely going to be a stretch and a challenge for us.”