Hulkenberg: Bahrain qualifying lap “best of career”
Nico Hulkenberg believes his qualifying lap for the Bahrain Grand Prix, was his greatest Saturday since his maiden Formula 1 pole position in Brazil in 2010.
The Frenchman will line-up an impressive seventh for the second consecutive race after he set a 1m29.842s in qualifying, just over a second off pole position.
Hulkenberg was over 1.2 seconds quicker than Renault team-mate Jolyon Palmer, and just under three-tenths shy of the highest placed Renault powered car of Daniel Ricciardo.
“That was one of my best qualifying laps together with my pole in Brazil 2010. It’s quite a tricky track to get a perfect lap here,” Hulkenberg said.
“I think I extracted the maximum possible today. The team has done a great job all through the weekend so I’m very proud and happy right now.
“Looking to the race, I’m a bit cautious with predictions as we had a great qualifying last time out, then the circumstances of the race undid our good work.
“We just need to get some good Easter egg points tomorrow.”
The 29-year-old claims his one-lap speed comes at no surprise after a strong winter testing.
“I felt since winter testing it was there,” he said. “From the beginning, the car was good with that.
“In Barcelona, we did a sub-1m20s lap time under normal circumstances, not underweight.
“We are still learning about the car. Trying different set-ups to understand the car more and more.”
Renault’s sporting director Alan Permane was delighted with the German’s effort and is confident the team can score its first points of 2017 in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“We’re obviously very happy with today’s performance,” Permane said.
“Nico put in excellent laps all the way through the qualifying sessions, not only to be ahead of both the Williams, but also in P7 on the cleaner side of the track.
“Our cars have been working well so far this weekend, so there’s nothing to fear ahead of the race.
“We’re hopeful of a straightforward grand prix where we secure our first points of the year.”