Nico Hülkenberg was pleased to secure his best finish so far with the Renault Sport Formula One Team as the German finished fifth in his home race at the Hockenheimring on Sunday.
In a race filled with drama, Hülkenberg drove superbly, particularly when conditions were at their trickiest as showers hit the track, and he finished as best of the rest behind the leading three teams, albeit more than twenty-six seconds off the race win despite there being a relatively late safety car period.
Hülkenberg felt the result, which helped him consolidate his position in seventh place in the Drivers’ Championship and Renault’s position in fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, was a nice reward for all of the hard work the Enstone-based team has been doing to maximise the potential of the R.S.18.
“I’m very happy with that,” said Hülkenberg. “The first part of the race wasn’t so exciting, but it was unfolding nicely towards the end, then the rain hit us.
“It was tricky out there trying to keep it on the road, but I enjoy those conditions and started to make some gains. It’s good points for the team, our joint best finish of the season and my best finish with Renault.
“More crazy conditions would have been nice, but we’ll take that. We made the right decisions and that’s why we deserve fifth today. We’ve been working hard for it, so it’s a nice reward for the team. We did a good job today.”
