F1 News
Hulkenberg: ‘Nothing really worked’
Nico Hulkenberg has said that ‘nothing really worked’ for Renault at the Austrian Grand Prix after both drivers struggled for pace throughout the weekend.
Renault have now dropped 20 points behind midfield rivals McLaren in the constructors championsip after a weekend where Daniel Ricciardo and Hulkenberg were unable to get out of Q2 in qualifying and any points during the race.
Whereas as Lando Norris qualified fifth and converted it into a sixth place finish in front of Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz made it up to eight after starting 19th on the grid.
Hulkenberg said (quoted by Motorsport Week): “Conclusion is nothing really worked, [We had] a lot of problems with the car. Also with the brakes.
“We started to have more issues [in the race], some very strange behaviour, like square kind of braking.
“It was difficult to control the car at times. Even driving in a straight line it felt like the front was very light, getting pushed around, as if you were in a close tow behind another car. Certainly not easy out there.”
Hulkenberg added that he and Renault hadn’t had much success at the Red Bull Ring in previous year, stating that it could be track related more so than car related.
“The Alfas were not far ahead but following another car here is tough in those corners and we didn’t have enough pace to get by,” Hulkenberg said.
“I felt in previous years Austria is a bit of a particular circuit.
“In the last few years with Renault we never had really great experiences here, so I hope it’s more track specific.
“We need to use that next week, take a deep dive, head into the data and look into things and see what’s going on.”
