MEXICO CITY — Nico Hulkenberg thinks Renault is in good shape for the Mexican Grand Prix but is not kidding himself that the French team can challenge Mercedes and Ferrari over the weekend.
Carlos Sainz and Hulkenberg finished third and fifth in second practice, either side of Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel in the final classification, while the Renault-powered Red Bull cars dominated the opening day of track action. By contrast, Ferrari and Mercedes struggled to get the best from their packages at the high-altitude circuit, where the thin air appears to negate some of Renault’s power deficit.
When asked how he would sum up Renault’s pace, Hulkenberg said: « Surprisingly good. «
I would sum it up in those two words, not because it’s very nice to see the two Renault cars and Renault power units also up there. The team is working hard, the team is working very well in this part of the season to secure that fourth in the standings.
« I think it’s a bit misleading, those time sheets, because you see Force India, you see Toro Rosso, you see Sauber particularly close to us still, half a tenth, one tenth, but then you see Ferrari and Mercedes are nowhere. It’s very weird how in one weekend, in the space of four days, they go from being two seconds quicker a lap to being together with us. »
Friday practice rarely gives an exact impression of how the rest of the weekend will develop and Hulkenberg expects the pecking order to look a little bit more normal come Saturday afternoon.
« I think I would be a bit naïve to think tomorrow we’re going to be third on the grid. I’m always optimistic and I’m always going to try my best, but I think they had issues today. They were struggling also in the long runs. I was following them and they didn’t look comfortable.
« The only reason for me to think that tomorrow things are going to turn. Maybe not as much – maybe we can still be half a second away from them instead of one second and a half, but it would surprise me to be ahead of them for sure. »
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/25093117/mexican-grand-prix-nico-hulkenberg-plays-misleading-renault-pace
