Nico Hulkenberg: 2018 problems still linger in Renault's 2019 Formula 1 car

Renault continues to be plagued by issues which cropped up in their 2018 challenger according to Nico Hulkenberg. The Renault duo almost simultaneously retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix with different issues.

The French team are in the middle of a five-year plan and this year hope to close the gap with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. With just six points in the kitty and a double DNF from Daniel Ricciardo, a step backwards is on the cards.

Renault openly spoke about their issues last season, and Autosport asked if the same issues are continuing to affect the car in 2019.

"We have improved on a couple of things and definitely I think the engine side has improved quite a lot over the winter," Hulkenberg said.

"Obviously [in Bahrain qualifying] we had a problem related with that, but I think that was a special case. The engine side has improved a lot. I think car and chassis aero-wise, we worked over the winter but we still have similar problems. So I feel there is where we really need to focus and come up with something better."