Hulkenberg hails 'step forward' by Renault heading to Hungary

Nico Hulkenberg is feeling buoyed up by an boost in Renault's fortunes as he heads into next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The German driver credited the R.S.17's new floor introduced by the team at Silverstone for recent improvements. It saw him finish the race in sixth place, equalling his best result of the season. It was a definite boost after a DNF in Baku and a distant 13th in Austria.

"I was happy with Silverstone, it was a very positive weekend," he said. "The new floor worked well and took the car a step forward. We managed to translate a good starting position into a strong finish.

"The pace was really good, we were faster than the midfield competition, [making us] best of the rest which is nice. We rewarded ourselves with some points which is important.

"Sixth is good for me, and good for the team who have been pushing hard. Now it’s time to reboot and go again in Budapest."

Hulkenberg explained that the Hungaoring was a tough track, especially for drivers who will be in need of a few weeks holiday afterwards.

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"It’s a physical track, very hot too which is hard on us drivers," he said. "It’s a demanding circuit. You don’t get too many breaks on the lap, so it’s a Grand Prix which comes down to fitness, more so than others.

"It feels like all of the corners combine, one error means you will suffer in another corner; you need a good flow and harmony."

"I like Hungary, it’s a good Grand Prix," he added. "The track is cool and technical with lots of good corner combinations which come one after the other."

Hulkenberg is also a fan of the city of Budapest, and hopes to get some time to look around while he's there.

"I think the city of Budapest is pretty especially with all its architecture," he said. "It’s certainly an interesting and pretty country and usually very hot there.

"There are lots of things to do and see. It’s a cool and buzzing weekend which means it’s usually good fun for the fans," he noted. "In terms of food, they have the Hungarian goulash which is very popular!"

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.