Hulkenberg warns Renault about set-up changes in Bahrain

Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg has issued a warning to his team about the hot weather conditions ahead of this weekend's second race of the Formula 1 season in Bahrain.

Hulkenberg drove very well in Australia to record a seventh-place finish for Renault and finish second in the midfield, behind the Haas of long-term rival Kevin Magnussen in Melbourne.

Unfortunately for his new team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, he had to retire early after his front wing came off right at the start of the race.

Speaking in his team's preview of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hulkenberg described some "mixed emotions" following the season-opening race in Australia:

"On a whole, we're happy to take home a handful of points from the first race," the German explained. "It was an up-and-down kind of weekend. We missed out on some running on Friday and when we hit the track, our short-run and long-run pace looked quite decent."

Moving onto Bahrain, and Hulkenberg has issued a slight warning to his team and its mechanics about the ever-changing weather conditions at the Bahrein International Circuit, with the race taking place with the sun going down for the night.

"It's usually a bit lighter in Bahrain in terms of my schedule for the week," Hulkenberg added. "Bahrain is very hot, even though we qualify and race at night when it's significantly cooler.

"The sun starts low for the race and then we drive into the darkness. FP1 and FP3 are slightly trickier and not run over representative conditions. Track temperature swings around over the weekend, so it's important to keep on top of the set-up changes.

"FP2 is the important session, as it's run at a similar time to qualifying and the race. It can also be windy in places there, so that's something to keep an eye on through the weekend."