Nico Hulkenberg says sixth place at the British Grand Prix is a “big success” for Renault, adding the team’s new upgrades are “working well”.
The German driver set quick times in the mixed conditions during qualifying, taking sixth on the grid – which then became fifth, due to Valtteri Bottas’ demotion for an unscheduled gearbox change.
He lost out to Bottas in the early laps but continued to pull away from the chasing pack, which included the Force India drivers.
A leak around the exhaust in the closing laps caused him to gradually lose power and this allowed Daniel Ricciardo to sneak ahead, but he then gained a spot with Sebastian Vettel’s late puncture.
“We are very happy with the race result,” he explained. “P6 is a big success for the team.
“We were able to get a good lap in qualifying and then to carry it through to the race. We had a strong race pace, and were able to keep ahead of both Force Indias, which is really positive.
“We lost some power at the end, especially down the straights, which made it easier for Daniel to pass me, but then we gained back a position from Seb [Vettel] when he had his problem.
“Overall this is a very positive result. The new upgrades worked really well, we were able to push the car and I’m really pleased for the team.”
His team-mate Jolyon Palmer failed to make the race start after a hydraulics issue on the formation lap.
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