Nico Hulkenberg believes his current run of form in qualifying has been partly influenced by the current generation of Formula 1 cars.
The German has been praised for his consistent record on a Saturday after qualifying in seventh position at last six grand prix’s dating back to Mexico last year.
Hulkenberg, who is competing in his eighth season in F1 since debuting in 2010, reckons his one-lap pace has been aided by the new generation of cars that were introduced in 2017 as they suit his driving style.
“I think I’ve just managed to hit it on the head each time,” said Hulkenberg. “I quite enjoy qualifying, I like getting out there where it counts and putting a lap together.
“I feel also the last 20 or so races I also had a car that allows me to do that and gives me the support that a driver needs also. Since last year, with this generation of cars, when you have the downforce, you’ve got more grip to work with.
“It’s just been a bit more fun and probably helps the way I drive also, a little bit.”
Asked to give his thoughts on the comparison between this year’s Renault power unit and last year’s, the 30-year-old added: “Yeah, I think for us at Renault it’s the step in reliability that we’ve managed to fix.
“Obviously the second half of last year we had a lot of problems, lost a lot of points and results and I think they’ve managed to cure and fix a lot of the issues there.
“On top of that, also worked on a lot of the installation things. Powerwise, I think we’ve made a step too so they’ve done a very good job on the Renault power unit over the winter. Doesn’t mean that there’s not more work to do but I think we’ve done some good improvements.”
