Nico Hülkenberg admitted to being satisfied after the first day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the German ending the day an encouraging fourth fastest for the Renault Sport Formula One Team.
The German only ran in the morning session before handing over to team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr., but completed seventy-three untroubled laps, ending within four-tenths of a second of pacesetter Daniel Ricciardo, and although times mean almost nothing at this stage of testing, he felt it was an encouraging start.
Hülkenberg feels the RS18 is a step forward compared to its 2017 predecessor, and he is already eager to get back behind the wheel of the car, which he will do on Tuesday afternoon.
“It was a satisfying first morning in the car,” said Hülkenberg. “Our plan today was to get mileage and laps under our belt and we managed to achieve that. It was a solid start with no major issues.
“I felt good in the car straight away but there are other factors to consider too; the track here has been resurfaced so there are fewer bumps and a lot more grip so it naturally feels a lot better behind the wheel.
“Certainly, we’re a good step forwards from where we were this time last year, but we have a lot of work to do over the days ahead. We completed every detail of the first day’s morning programme, so that’s credit to the team for all their hard work.”
