Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was left perplexed by his team’s lack of pace in Thursday’s practice ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, describing his lap times to Autosport as “terrible.”
The German finished FP2 in 17th place, complaining of fundamental balance and grip issues.
His performance woes in the second session were no doubt exacerbated by an electrical problem in FP1 which left him stranded in the garage and unable to complete a timed lap or gather data in the morning.
When asked why his pace was so far below expectations, Hulkenberg said, “I don’t know, I can’t tell you at this moment. I’m scratching my head as well.
“Straight from first run I felt like I’m not going anywhere. I wasn’t even looking at my lap times initially because I know they were terrible.”
“So we need to really investigate what’s going on, because I’m sure something is not right.
Renault was not the only team left evaluating a difficult day at the chequered flag. Mercedes was another outfit to endure a challenging FP2 session, after a setup change following the morning running.
Curiously, Hulkenberg’s early suggestions as to why lap time was elusive echoed what Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas noted after the session.
“It felt really poor out there,” Hulkenberg added, “not just that I’m struggling with the balance a lot and confidence in the car, but also the grip from the tyres what we get seems really odd and poor.”
An engine failure for Hulkenberg’s team-mate Jolyon Palmer after just eight laps in FP2 compounded Renault’s woes. A tricky Thursday for the French marque will make for a crucial FP3 ahead of qualifying on Saturday.
