Despite being beaten by his team-mate in Renault F1 Team‘s best result of the year in the 2019 Italian Grand Prix, Nico Hülkenberg says he’s “very pleased after that result.”
Hülkenberg narrowly missed out on a top five qualifying result on Saturday as team-mate Daniel Ricciardo headed Renault’s charge but it was the German that got the better start.
Hülkenberg headed his team-mate and Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap before the four-time world champion regained fourth on lap two. Hülkenberg then lost out to his slip-streaming team-mate on lap five.
With Vettel running into his own issues later both Renault’s moved into the top five, where Hülkenberg trailed his team-mate home in fifth.
“I’m very pleased after that result,” said Hülkenberg. “It feels nice to have a finish like this and hopefully it will bring some momentum for the remaining seven races.
“The team deserve it as it’s been a tough year for us with some difficult results and moments. It’s a nice reward for everyone involved for the hard work.
“For me, it was a straightforward race. I made a strong start with two overtakes and managed to hold good track position. From there it was about maintaining that, making no mistakes and keeping calm.”
In the latter stages Hülkenberg came under pressure from Alex Albon but held off the Red Bull Racing driver, finishing just 1.2-seconds clear.
“I had some pressure at the end but I managed to fend that off. It was largely quiet and controlled and a very good team result with Daniel just ahead!”
Hülkenberg’s equal-best result for Renault sees him eleventh in the drivers’ standings, three points and three positions behind team-mate Ricciardo, while Renault close in on fourth in the constructors’ title race.
