Hulkenberg: Renault not a clear cut fourth 

Nico Hulkenberg does not agree with suggestions that Renault is now the fourth best Formula 1 team, insisting the competitive order in 2018 is not so “clear cut”. 

Renault has enjoyed a strong start to the new campaign and currently occupies fourth place in the constructors’ championship, 22 points clear of customer team McLaren. The French manufacturer enjoyed a strong home race on the return of the French Grand Prix, finishing inside the points with both its cars for the third consecutive race. 

But when asked if he felt Renault was now consistently the fourth best team, Hulkenberg replied: “I wouldn’t say it is so clear. In Montreal the Force India was pretty close to us. It is still pretty tight there. 

“Usually the good thing is that we are there consistently, sometimes Force India, sometimes McLaren, sometimes Haas that are chasing us or we are fighting with. 

“That means that the points are distributed more in our favour. But I don’t see us clear cut fourth. We have been pretty consistent so far, but we still have more work to do consolidate that.”

With the tight midfield fight continuing to intensify as momentum swings between a number of teams, Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul stressed the Enstone-based squad cannot afford to become complacent with F1 heading to the second leg of its first-ever triple header at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. 

"There is no time to dwell on our third double-points finish in a row as we move on to Spielberg,” Abiteboul added. “Back-to-back races are always challenging, but we know what to expect and we will be aiming to carry the momentum shown in France into Austria and then onward to England. 

“Austria certainly won’t be as busy as France off track, but the core sporting job remains, and there is a lot more hard work to put in if we are to tighten the grip on fourth place in the constructors’ Championship.”