Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg says it was ‘positive’ to score points at the first race of the season in Melbourne.
Hulkenberg came home seventh ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and the two Toro Rossos. The German was unable to pass the Haas of Romain Grosjean despite being stuck behind the Frenchman for the majority of the race.
Force India had planned to put Hulkenberg and teammate Sergio Perez on a one-stop strategy but the red flag caused by Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez’s crash at turn three ruined this. However, overall, Hulkenberg was pleased to score points.
“To get some points in the bag at the first race is a positive way to start the year. It was not an easy day and it’s difficult to know what would have happened without the race being stopped and restarted. I think the red flag made things a lot more difficult for our planned one-stop strategy because it gave everybody around us the chance to reset and change their tyres.
“So that was a shame and it meant I was out of position and got stuck behind the Haas for most of the race. It was not easy to get close to Romain (Grosjean) and I had a lot of cars behind me, which meant I was always under pressure and having to defend as well as chase. So, given all the circumstances, seventh place feels quite satisfying.”
