Renault
Nico Hulkenberg
"We took a risk right at the end of the first lap and came in for slicks as the track was really dry everywhere apart from the main straight. As I exited the box though, Stroll crashed and the Virtual Safety Car came out, and in damp conditions if you can't push, you lose all the tyre temperature. I lost all grip; it was like driving on ice and I spun a few times… From there it just went wrong, the VSC pretty much ruined our strategy and so the race. It's a shame because I think it could have worked out very nicely for us today."
Jolyon Palmer
"It was a difficult race. We made the right call to pit at the end of the formation lap but I hit a wet patch when racing a Toro Rosso, then the tyres lost temperature under the Virtual Safety Car, so it was a very difficult first stint. On the plus side, the car ran reliably and I have a race distance under my belt now. Now we reset and head to Bahrain with the objective of a much better weekend."
Cyril Abiteboul, managing director
"Ultimately, this has been a frustrating weekend for us. We showed strong potential with our P7 on Saturday, however the race did not deliver the results we wanted. The early Virtual Safety Car meant we were immediately on the back foot as we'd already pitted Nico to cover the threat from those behind. He then also received a penalty. Jolyon suffered from the same Virtual Safety Car affecting his strategy and after that we were on damage limitation. We are disappointed to end the second Grand Prix with no points, however the positives are that we showed both pace and reliability here. We need to harness our potential better in the coming races."
