Nico Hulkenberg was disappointed with the team’s strategy calls at the Monaco Grand Prix, which the German felt likely cost him a podium spot at the end of the race. Despite that grievance Hulkenberg was still able to take sixth place, after just pipping Nico Rosberg for the spot at the line, which rounded off the weekend nicely for the Sahara Force India squad, who also saw driver Sergio Perez finish on the podium.
Heading into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Hulkenberg is confident of a further strong points finish for the team.
“Montreal is a challenging track – you need to attack the kerbs and get really close to the walls. There is also a big emphasis on braking performance and traction out of the low-speed corners.
“The tyre choices are at the softer end of the range, so there will be some aggressive strategies, but these tyres worked well for us in Monaco. It’s hard to overtake there, but the final chicane is definitely the best opportunity.
“Monaco was a frustrating weekend for me. Despite scoring a very good sixth place, we missed a big opportunity to be even higher up. The car felt great all week and we really found the sweet spot.
“I think we can carry this performance into Canada and be just as competitive. It’s almost a street track and you need to really lean on the car to get the lap time.”
After some bad luck earlier in the year with results not going their way, the Silverstone based squad are hoping that Monaco was the turning point in their season, and they can really push on now from here.
