2018 Review – Renault: The Comeback of the Diamond

Championship standing: 4th, 122 points

The return of the famous French brand in the premier category of motorsport was discreet in 2016 with a meager 9th place in the constructors’ standings. 2017 was much more successful with frequent finishes in the points. The R.S.17 was good in all areas but excellent in none. Its little sister, on the other hand, comes with a much better chassis, a more powerful engine, and above all, better reliability. It will take until the 9th race of the season to see a yellow car retire due to mechanical failure. This type of problem only occurred 4 times compared to 9 in 2017.

Finishing as the best of the rest is one of the most coveted honorary titles in the midfield and this year it’s Renault who achieves it, not without difficulty. It was against Haas, Force India, McLaren, and even Sauber at the end of the season that the French team fought all throughout 2018. The very tight midfield almost got the better of the Enstone team, but unlike the Haas team, their main rival, the yellows showed more caution and can boast of finishing just off the podium.

Doing better in 2019 will be complicated but not impossible. The arrival of Daniel Ricciardo at Renault clearly shows Cyril Abiteboul’s objective to move forward and get closer to the leading pack to, perhaps, clinch a few podiums in 2019. The other challenge for Renault, but this time as an engine manufacturer, is to design an engine as powerful as Ferrari’s and Mercedes’.

Nico Hülkenberg:

Ranking in the championship: 7th, 69 points

Best qualifying position: 7th (China, Canada, Germany, United States, Mexico)

Best race finish: 5th Germany

A very solid new season for the German driver who continues to assert himself as the best of the rest. His experience allowed him to avoid collisions with other drivers, except in Abu Dhabi, and to seize opportunities when they arose. “Hulk” nevertheless made rookie mistakes like in Azerbaijan, where he crashed into the wall when it was highly likely a strong position awaited him at the end of the race, and also in Brazil finishing his practice session in the wall.

Nico managed to hold his own against his teammate, Carlos Sainz, while confirming his position as the team’s leader. A status that might be seriously challenged with the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo next year. The only regret one might have about Hülkenberg’s season is that he still hasn’t made it to the podium after 156 Grand Prix, which is the record for the most races without a podium. While it’s true that the R.S.18 didn’t necessarily have the capabilities to compete with the top teams, there’s hope that 2019 will put an end to this unfortunate record.

Carlos Sainz:

Ranking in the championship: 10th, 53 points

Best qualifying position: 5th (Hungary)

Best racing position: 5th (Azerbaijan)

The young Spanish driver confirmed that with a competitive single-seater, he could deliver very strong performances and even become a benchmark in the midfield. The Madrid native always succeeded throughout the season in scoring valuable points on circuits where Renault was comfortable and even occasionally less so, such as in Italy or Abu Dhabi.

If the son of the double world rally champion had a dispute with Pierre Gasly for a potential seat at Red Bull, the split between the Austrian firm and Carlos Sainz Jr was relatively obvious after he signed with Renault.

It will be hard to do better than his 2018 campaign for the Spaniard, especially knowing that he’s leaving a team on the rise to join a struggling McLaren. However, the 24-year-old driver arrives at the British team as a leader, which is a real asset.