Nico Hülkenberg is looking forward to “a very special Grand Prix” at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Japan.
The German has a strong record at the Japanese Grand Prix and enjoys seeing how enthusiastic the fans are for Formula 1.
“Japan is a very special Grand Prix.
“The fans make it an incredible experience and they are so enthusiastic at any time of day, even if it rains!
“They are super supportive and energetic and it’s cool to say ‘Kon’nichiwa’ to them when we arrive at the track.
“It’s certainly one of the race weekends I look forward to.
“It’s a circuit I enjoy racing at and my record around Suzuka has been quite consistent in the past, so I’ll be aiming to add more points to the tally this weekend.”
Suzuka is one of the drivers favourite tracks on the calendar and with its history, the Renault Sport Formula One Team driver says it ticks all the boxes.
“Suzuka is built for drivers as it ticks all the boxes.
“It’s such an amazing track behind the wheel – especially in a modern Formula 1 car – and it’s certainly one of the best circuits out there.
“It has a good flow to it, with some cool corner combinations, elevation changes and it’s quite physical too with a lot of G on the body and neck.
“There are some areas of the lap where you need to be quite aggressive and brave, but that’s the fun of it.
“I find Degner One quite tricky as the apex sticks out and if you touch it too much it sends you wide and before you know it, you’re in the gravel and into the wall; there’s not much time to recover from that!
“The Spoon curve can also be tough to get right, as it’s a double left-hander, off-camber and the car can feel loose as you fight the balance.
“But it’s an important corner, as the long straight leads off it, so a good exit is required.”
Renault struggled in Russia last week and saw their advantage over Haas F1 Team cut to only eleven points but Hülkenberg feels the Japan gives the team an opportunity to bounce back.
“Clearly, it was a disappointing result as we aim for points at every race.
“We gave it a go on a different strategy to our direct competitors and I was pretty happy with the long opening stint.
“We were in contention, but unfortunately it didn’t work out and we fell short.
“But we have a great opportunity to go again in Japan and get ourselves back into the points.”
