Breaking news
Formula 1 Spanish GP
Hulkenberg: Renault thought it had fuel issue sorted
Nico Hulkenberg says the problem that derailed his Spanish Grand Prix qualifying came "out of the blue" despite earlier issues in practice, as Renault believed it was "on top of" the situation.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: May 12, 2018, 6:08 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The German had made the final qualifying segment in all four of the first grand prix weekends of the 2018 Formula 1 season, but was left only 16th on the grid in Spain, his Q1 exit triggered by what Renault described as a "fuel pressure issue".
Hulkenberg had been unable to log a representative lap at all on his first run, and could only squeeze in one proper effort late on - which was not enough to for him to advance as McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne beat him to a Q2 spot by 0.038s.
Talking to media after the session, Hulkenberg revealed that Renault had already discovered a fuel system issue in Saturday morning's practice run - and that the team "checked everything" ahead of qualifying.
"We had a little bit of a problem with the fuel system in FP3, but the guys went into the tank, checked everything," Hulkenberg said. "We thought we were on top of it, and didn't really expect any problem.
"So it is a little bit out of the blue, and we didn't expect it."
Hulkenberg confirmed that the fuel problem affected him on both of his runs in Q1.
He explained: "[It was] just fuel drop-off, so you just lose the drive, you lose power.
"It's like the engine just stops for split-seconds, but obviously you lose acceleration, you lose speed."
While Hulkenberg's qualifying ended in disappointment, teammate Carlos Sainz managed to break through to Q3 and put his RS18 on the grid.
This, allied to the two cars' solid showings in FP3, was a marked improvement on Renault's pace from earlier in the weekend, as Hulkenberg and Sainz had ended both of Friday's sessions well outside the top 10.
"The huge step forward that we've done compared to yesterday is pretty impressive, no?" Sainz said.
"I think we were not even in the top 12 yesterday and all of a sudden we're fighting for the top eight again.
"So it has to be a very positive day for us, a lot of progress made by the team, very good analysis done yesterday night to bring together a much better package for today."
Asked what exactly brought on the turnaround in Renault's form, Sainz said: "A lot of set-up changes. I cannot specify obviously but we did change quite a lot on the car.
"The track cooled down a bit, bit less windy, makes things easier for everyone out there - on top of that, the set-up changes we've done are definitely better."
Additional reporting by Scott Mitchell
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Magnussen: Seventh is pole position for Haas
Next article Mercedes denies influence on F1 tyre change
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Carlos Sainz
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
More from
Renault F1 Team
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brazilian GP
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Formula 1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Latest news
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe