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Renault confirmed that it stepped in and intervened between its two drivers at the Canadian Grand Prix as it "needed the result".
Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth and seventh respectively, taking the team's first double points finish since USA 2018 (where it also finished P6 and P7)
Renault has endured a tough start to the 2019 season which inspired managing director Cyril Abiteboul to make the decision to ensure that both drivers came home with the points.
“Probably Nico would have had the pace to overtake him, but frankly we said 'we need that result'," he said.
“I don't like to do that, it's not the style of the team, that's something that we don't intend to do on many occasions. I wanted to make sure that the team's back in the game, and the drivers will also be back in the game, their own game, from next week onwards.
"For this weekend it was important to get back as close as possible to the team that's still fourth, which is McLaren.”
Hulkenberg's car overheated behind Ricciardo
Hulkenberg revealed that he struggled to remain close to Ricciardo throughout the race as his car was overheating rapidly when he closed up.
However, the German says that perhaps he should have done a stronger job in qualifying in order to beat Ricciardo, who managed to secure fourth for the start of the race.
"I had ten lap fresher tyres and had more pace in hand," Hulkenberg commented. "But when I pushed on to him my car started to overheat, the engine and brakes, and I started to get some brake fading.
"It was quite unfortunate that I couldn't get that done, but I guess I should have done a better job in qualifying yesterday."
Renault bringing upgrades to Paul Ricard
Hulkenberg added that Renault will be arriving at the French Grand Prix in two weeks' time with fresh upgrades in the hope that they will boost its prospects of finishing at the front of the midfield.
"It was nice to finally have a good weekend without any issues and hiccups to get both cars in good point scoring positions," the former Force India driver said.
"It was a nice result for everyone at Viry and Enstone, the hard work pays off. It's just that so far this year, we've been compromised.
"We have some upgrades coming at Paul Ricard so hopefully they will bring more performance to the car. Maybe we can close the gap," Hulkenberg concluded.
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
24 members have this team as their favourite
Replies (6)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I hate team orders, but they were right to do this. Valuable points indeed
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It was a strong race for them no doubt. Tracks with big straights seem to be something they are getting better at.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
it's good to see. I wish they could just be more consistent
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I think that is an issue they will struggle with for a long time to come, I'm afraid. They are very similar to Ferrari is several ways, inconsistency being one.
Dert38
Posts: 376
they would've stayed anyway, but with killed tyres Gasly could've closed on them
cricho
Posts: 80
The team needed this result. Looks like they are getting their shit together finally. They will very surely regain 4th in constructors by the end of French gp which seems like their spot on the grid. Nice battle between maclaren and Renault for this place. Hope they close the gap to RBR Berore the summer break.
Always nice to see the underdogs pushing up!!