Carlos Sainz Jr. felt his pace during Friday practice at the Hungaroring was ‘pretty decent’ after ending both sessions inside the top ten.
The Renault Sport Formula One Team driver, who has failed to score points in the past three Grand Prix, was ninth fastest in the morning session before improving to eighth in the afternoon, with his best time of 1:18.495 ending just over four-tenths of a second shy of Romain Grosjean in seventh.
Sainz was positive about the potential of the R.S.18 and is eager to return to the track on Saturday having identified the areas where the team need to improve to ensure a positive outcome in Qualifying and the race.
“It was good to get out on this track and the car was feeling pretty decent,” said Sainz, who’s best finish of the season was a fifth place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of April. “We ran through the usual programme, and were able to make positive progress.
“As usual, we identified what we need to do to improve the car and I’m particularly looking forward to tomorrow.”
Nick Chester, the Technical Director, Chassis of the Renault team, said Sainz had a good day behind the wheel and provided the team a lot of positive feedback as they work to maintain and strengthen their position in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
“Carlos had a decent day, on the pace in both sessions and with good feedback for us to work on in terms of setup,” said Chester.
