F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2019 Azerbaijan GP

Nico Hulkenberg (P14): 5.5/10
Nico Hulkenberg is one of the most dependable and consistent drivers on the grid, so if he suddenly has a big drop in form - and if it happens at the same venue as his big-name team mate - then you know a team has some serious issues. Alarm bells should have been ringing at Renault when he was only 17th at the end of Friday's practice session, a second slower even than Daniel Ricciardo who went on to beat him again in Saturday's final practice and in qualifying itself. Hulkenberg insisted he was pushing hard but that the R.S.19 "had no response or anything to offer" all weekend. It's simply not what you'd expect from a factory team: Renault seem to have unexpectedly engaged reverse gear, although perhaps not quite in the way that Ricciardo did in the race! Hulkenberg at least lasted the distance without crashing into anything or anyone, but 14th place is a long way from the threshold we'd been expecting from the big-budget factory team and its drivers in 2019.