Renault F1 Team had a tricky Friday at the Austrian Grand Prix with both Nico Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo struggling at the Red Bull Ring.
The two Renault’s finished 16th and 17th in Free Practice 2 with technical director, Nick Chester, admitting the team needs to investigate why they have been off the pace so far this weekend.
“We lacked pace in FP2 today and there’s some investigating to do tonight to find out why and find areas we can improve.
“We’ll work with the drivers and find a direction ahead of tomorrow.”
The day did not start well for Hülkenberg who brought out the red flag at the end of Free Practice 1 after he broke part of his front wing on a kerb.
“It’s been a tricky day overall.
“The car lacked pace and there’s a bit of a question mark as to why.”
The German admits he hasn’t felt comfortable with the Renault this weekend and knows that the team needs to “find some solutions”.
“While we’re slow on the timesheets, I didn’t feel totally comfortable at the wheel.
“We need to investigate what’s gone on as it seems a bit odd today.
“Conditions were tough, especially in the afternoon with high track temperatures and wind in places.
“A difficult day for us, but we’ll work hard tonight to find some solutions for tomorrow.”
Ricciardo had a slightly brighter day than his German team-mate and finished the morning session in eighth but felt Renault failed to improve as the day went on.
“It was difficult for us out there today, especially with our pace where we struggled to match others around us.
“As the track improved, we couldn’t seem to improve with it.
“We have a bit of homework to do tonight.”
The Australian, who missed out on points last weekend in France believes the wind in the afternoon affected a lot of people, including himself and Hülkenberg.
“Both cars were off the pace, so we’ll try and figure it out and find a solution together.
“The wind did seem to affect a lot of people today.
“It certainly affected the car and it was tricky out there.
“We’ll look into everything and see what we can improve.”
