Nico Hülkenberg said that the Renault F1 Team recovered well to finish Friday in seventh position, after an electrical issue hampered his start to the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Hülkenberg was delayed in participating in the season’s first Free Practice session, only managing to get out on track in the final third of the session.
A software problem led to mass work on Hülkenberg’s car, with Renault needing to perform a reset on the R.S.19.
The German registered the tenth fastest time in Free Practice 1, despite completing just 11 laps, before moving up to seventh and within a second of fastest man Lewis Hamilton with a best lap time of a 1:23.574 in Free Practice 2 at Albert Park.
Hülkenberg revealed that he immediately felt comfortable in the car in breezy conditions that caught numerous drivers out.
“We recovered well today after a far from ideal first session,” he said.
“FP2 was good and consistent.
“I felt comfortable straight away in the car, which is one of the most important things for a driver – we’re coming in to a different circuit to that of testing [Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya] and it’s such a contrasting track to get a feel for.
I felt at home – happy as we can be at this stage – and we ran to our programme as planned in FP2.
“Our long runs were good, but there is still a lot of data to analyse overnight before Qualifying tomorrow.”
Hülkenberg completed a more respectable total of 37 laps in Free Practice 2, completing fast runs on the soft Pirelli tyres and longer stints on the hardest compound brought to Australia, the C4s.
