Nico Hülkenberg will begin his third season with the Renault F1 Team and is determined to make the push forward towards the front of the Formula 1 field.
This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit marks the opening race of the season, and the German is convinced that he and the French outfit can continue to make inroads with their R.S.19.
“I’m very excited to head out to Melbourne,” Hulkenberg said.
“At testing, and across the winter, there was a lot of speculation and anticipation, but the first race weekend is when the talking stops and we find out for real where we stand.
“Testing went reasonably well, but we don’t know anything for certain until we hit the track in Australia.
“The midfield will always be competitive, but we focus on ourselves, stay on top of things and ensure our developments give us improvements.”
The 31-year old continues to hold the unwanted record for the most number of Grand Prix starts without a podium (157) but aims to put that anomaly right this season.
With a new team-mate joining Renault this year in Daniel Ricciardo, Hulkenberg will be hoping the partnership will help propel the team to its first appearance on the rostrum since the takeover from Lotus at the back end of 2015.
