Nico Hülkenberg is hopeful that the disappointing weekend experienced by himself and his Renault F1 Team in Azerbaijan was just a one-off, with this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix the first chance since to see where they are in relation to their midfield rivals.
Hülkenberg started down in sixteenth position after a Q1 elimination at the Baku City Circuit and finished a lowly fourteenth as he failed to get the best out of his R.S.19 at any point, something he hopes does not happen again this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the first European race of 2019.
“Obviously, Baku was not a good weekend for us,” said Hülkenberg. “I gave it my best effort and was driving very hard, but we couldn’t seem to make any progression.
“The season is very long and I hope this is just one of those off weekends, which can happen. It’s been a difficult start to the season, but I know we’re a tight group. We’ll put our heads together and go again in Barcelona.”
Hülkenberg is hopeful to build on the productive pre-season testing programme that Renault achieved in 2019 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as he bids to return to the points for the first time since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March.
“We rack up a lot of laps at Barcelona year on year, so it’s a place we are all very familiar with,” said the German. “It’s a layout I like with a lot high-speed corners including Turns 3 and 10, which are especially quick.
“Barcelona is actually a very physical circuit, and you usually feel the aches in your neck after the race! We had a productive winter test there earlier in the year so we’ll be looking to build on that circuit knowledge and put in a good result throughout the weekend.”
