Hulkenberg: Renault favoured track position over free tyre choice

Renault went the opposite route of Force India in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, the French outfit favouring a good position on the grid rather than a free tyre choice for Sunday's race.

Renault's form ascended at the outset in Mexico, likely helped by the special demands of the high altitude venue where Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg ran in the top four on Friday.

In qualifying the pair secured P7 and P8, with the German driver preceding his team mate. Despite the high degradation level of Pirelli's hypersoft compound, on which the Renault drivers will start their race, Hulkenberg believes not sacrificing performance in Q2 was the right call.

• Perez admits Force India didn't want to make it into Q3

"We gave that some thought but we felt it was better to have track position, start ahead, and manage it from there," said Hulkenberg.

"But I wasn’t also convinced, as staying out of Q3 and having free tyre choice also has some risks involved. I was also going for the maximum grid position.

“[The Hypersoft] is a tyre that requires management and its life is not as long as the other compounds. But we will manage."

Sainz admitted his performance in the Saturday afternoon session could have been better, as he struggled with his R.S.18's balance.

"We’ve confirmed we’re in a better place than in previous races and we’ve found a bit more performance in the car, so we can be happy with that," he said.

"From a personal point of view, qualifying could have gone better as I was fighting the balance of the car and I had a lot of oversteer.

"I wasn’t feeling so happy in the car, but we still made Q3. We always want more, so we’ll be fighting tomorrow to ensure it’s another successful team result with double points."

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