Bob Bell, the Chief Technical Officer of the Renault Sport Formula 1 Team, believes Nico Hülkenberg’s arrival at the Enstone-based team will give the team a sense of direction as they approach their second season back in the sport as a manufacturer outfit in 2017.
Hülkenberg has switched over to Renault after leaving the Sahara Force India F1 Team at the end of 2016 replacing Haas F1 Team-bound Kevin Magnussen, and Bell believes that his input will be vital as they look to show what they are capable of during 2017 after a relatively mediocre 2016 that saw only eight points scored.
Bell believes Hülkenberg’s experience – the German has started 115 Grand Prix – will be beneficial to Renault in 2017, and will be able to pull everyone together to drive the outfit to better results.
“Nico will bring a very clear sense of direction in terms of where we need to take the car from a driver’s perspective,” said Bell to Autosport. “He’s not going to tell us what shape to make the front wing but he’ll be very clear about what we need to do to, what characteristics from the driver’s perspective the car needs.
“We’re moving to different tyres next year and to have someone of his experience will very much help us deal with that transition. His experience will help with how to get the best out of them and how to manage.
“So those are two areas where he could play a really critical role. And of course he’ll be a focal point for the team to help motivate everybody and pull everybody forward.”
