Renault doubts Merc, Ferrari challenge after "misleading" Friday

Carlos Sainz reckons Renault will struggle to remain ahead of Formula 1 frontrunners Mercedes and Ferrari after a “misleading” Friday practice for the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Spaniard finished third-quickest behind the Red Bull duo in both sessions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez in what proved to be a strong day for the French manufacturer, despite ending up over a second off the pace.

Ferrari and Mercedes’ respective struggles throughout FP1 and FP2 were particularly eye-catching, as both teams trialled Renault in the timesheets on the same Hypersoft tyre compound.

While Sainz was encouraged by his team’s performance, the McLaren-bound driver doubts Friday’s results acted as a true reflection of the competitive order in Mexico.

“I think the timesheets are a bit misleading because you see Force India, you see Toro Rosso, you see Sauber particularly close to us still, half a tenth to one tenth, but then you see Ferrari and Mercedes are nowhere,” Sainz explained.

“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.”

Asked if he felt Renault can stay ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes in qualifying, Sainz replied: “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.

“We will keep fighting, we will keep digging. If we can find another two or three tenths on the car for tomorrow, we might make it even more difficult for them.”

Nico Hulkenberg echoed his teammate’s comments, adding he expects Ferrari and Mercedes to come back strong on Saturday.

“I don’t believe that we can beat or compete with Ferrari or Mercedes,” Hulkenberg said. “I struggle to believe because usually the gap has been so big, I don’t know why they were off the pace today.

“I don’t know what happened with them today, but I doubt we can beat those guys.

“I think for us, we just need to do our homework, do the best we can, and then we’ll see where we end up tomorrow,” he added.

“If you look at the timesheets, we seem to be competitive from the morning, which is obviously nice - but I wouldn’t get too overexcited, it’s only Friday.

“I’m sure the others have had a few problems today, and when they sort that out, they will come back.”