Fifth in Hockenheim, Hülkenberg achieves his best result with Renault!
The French team stood out, thanks to the fifth place achieved by Nico Hülkenberg. The German drove a wise and solid race!
Still no podium for Nico Hülkenberg! Joking aside, it’s hard to blame the Renault driver during the German Grand Prix. Qualified seventh, the 2009 GP2 champion overtook Grosjean at the start. Passed by Hamilton at the chicane on the eleventh lap, the other local of the stage didn’t give up, after being overtaken by Magnussen during his pit stop. Comfortable in the rain, Hülkenberg then got past the Dane and took advantage of Vettel’s crash to move up to fifth position at the finish. The Renault driver had the opportunity to reflect on his race.
« I am very happy with this result. The first part of the race was exciting. The end became very tricky with the rain. I tried to stay on the track as long as possible. I enjoyed these conditions and started to gain positions. These are very good points! »
The driver even admitted, referring to the deluge that hit the paddock after the podium. But no matter what, we made the right decisions. We deserve this fifth place. We worked hard, so it’s a nice reward for the whole team. We did a good job. And for good reason! Nico Hülkenberg achieves his best result since joining Renault in March 2017. He also equals Sainz’s performance, who was already fifth in Azerbaijan, the best position for the French team since its return to Formula 1 in early 2016.
In the overall drivers’ standings, Nico Hülkenberg strengthens his seventh place. With 10 additional points, he maintains his lead in the race for the title of “best of the rest,” outside of the Mercedes-Ferrari-Red Bull trio. He now has a twelve-point advantage over Fernando Alonso! Enough to solidify his status within the team, as increasingly persistent rumors suggest Esteban Ocon might join him for 2019.
Awesome crowd, awesome day & the best result of season just in time for my #HomeGP 🇩🇪💪🏾!
happy & proud!! Great job by all of the @renaultsportf1 team!! pic.twitter.com/GpKI71tMfN— Nico Hülkenberg (@HulkHülkenberg) July 22, 2018
Carlos Sainz penalized and out of the points
Unlike his teammate, Carlos Sainz does not bring points for his team. Battling with Grosjean in the first part of the race, the Spaniard more or less followed Nico Hülkenberg’s strategy. On the track, the former Toro Rosso driver finished the Grand Prix in tenth position. However, his end of the race is not so joyful, as he received a 10-second penalty on his ranking for overtaking Leclerc’s Sauber under the safety car. A surprising mistake, indicative of a lack of communication with his team, which costs him a point.
“We were held back. I had a good start, though,” regretted the son of the former rally driver, referring to his battle with Grosjean. He then continued to talk about the end of the race, the onset of rain, but above all his ten-second penalty. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have the right timing to change our tires during Vettel’s crash. This penalty is inevitably disappointing, we need to analyze it.”
Among the constructors, Renault still increases its lead over Haas and Force India, its main pursuers. A 19-point lead over the American team and 21 over the Silverstone team. The Enstone camp is well on track to reach its goal of fourth place!
