Nico Hülkenberg believes his Renault Sport Formula One Team “achieved our qualifying mission” after qualifying seventh for the Chinese Grand Prix.
The German was the best of the rest once Scuderia Ferrari, Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing are taken out of the equation.
The midfield proved to be very close again and Hulkenberg was happy to beat the Haas F1 Team, McLaren F1 Team and Sahara Force India to seventh place on the grid.
“I’m happy with that, seventh place again, which is probably the best we could do today,” said Hülkenberg. “We achieved our qualifying mission and that’s a positive.”
Hülkenberg had looked strong on Friday and Saturday morning and is pleased with the feeling he has from his Renault this weekend. The Renault driver qualified on the Ultrasoft tyre in the second part of qualifying so will have to start on the purple marked tyre, something which could be a tad problematic at the start of the race for the German.
“I’ve had a good feeling and good rhythm on this track this weekend and the balance of the car feels fine,” said Hülkenberg.
“Tomorrow is a little more challenging, the first stint will likely be on the shorter side for sure, but we have good pace on all compounds, so that makes me optimistic for the race.”
