Nico Hulkenberg says he agrees with Red Bull Racing’s point against Renault’s power unit’s competitiveness in the 2018 F1 season.
Renault remained the talking point all season long in 2018 for Red Bull especially regarding their competitiveness against Mercedes and Ferrari. The French manufacturer had been under fire from Max Verstappen for their lack of power from the engine.
It was evident that Renault had the deficit against the two of its rivals which Red Bull thought played a spoilsport in their attempt to become the third team to make it a three-way championship fight in the season.
The signing of Red Bull with Honda for 2019 and beyond made it all the more difficult as the constant back and forth continued between the two parties. Despite the lack, Red Bull managed to pull through and score handy wins and podiums.
Even for the factory outfit, they gained two places in the standings to be fourth as the best of the rest but they couldn’t close the gap to the Top 3 teams which was clear from the points gap between Red Bull and Renault.
Looking at the results for both Red Bull and Renault in 2018, the former were hugely agitated with the lack of power and even with the failures on the power unit side while the latter had overall lack which hindered their progress.
Interestingly, Hulkenberg sided with Red Bull on this point when asked by FormulaRapida.net if he agrees with what Red Bull have been saying during the season. “I think they [Red Bull] have a point.
“We also disappointed ourselves and didn’t find the performance that we wanted throughout the year. I think that’s a fact and that’s why sometimes we dropped in the competitive level also.
“It is not just that reason but there are different reasons. I think it was certainly one of them – so that is one area that we need to get better for next year and the future.” Renault is going for a big change in 2019 which it hopes that it will deliver.
The German also felt the hiring of Daniel Ricciardo will be helpful in terms of information to develop the car – if not on the power side but certainly on the chassis section. For now, Hulkenberg’s goal is not to see if he beats Ricciardo but wants the team to grow overall.
“[First of all] I think I have no issues with him arriving [in the team],” he said. “It is all very positive and good news. [In fact] it should give a boost to the team and good information from him. We’ll see how it pans out and who beats who [which is secondary].”