Nico Hulkenberg admits to having higher ambitions than claiming eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix but the Force India racer was still pleased to make it back-to-back points finishes in Montreal.
Starting from ninth on the grid, Hulkenberg tried to make the race a one-stopper but was forced to pit a second time in the light of high tyre degradation. For the second race in a row, the German thinks he could have achieved a stronger result.
“I’m happy to score points, but at the same time I was hoping for a bit more from the race because I really believed we could challenge the top six,” said Hulkenberg, who had been disappointed with sixth in Monaco.
“For some reason the car didn’t feel as good in the race as it did during practice and qualifying. Maybe it’s because the conditions were so cold and windy, which meant we lost the sweet spot and the car was not easy to drive. That’s something we need to look at in more detail and understand.”
In the mean time, team-mate Sergio Perez made it two Force Indias in the points for the second consecutive event. But the Mexican, who also did two stops, confesses he did not have a smooth ride to P10 and questions his race strategy around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“It was a difficult race and looking back I don’t think we chose the optimum strategy,” Perez said. “We tried to go down a different route compared to everyone else, but the cooler track conditions didn’t help: it was very difficult to get heat into the soft tyres during the first stint.
“I got stuck behind the two McLarens and that hurt my race. I lost a few seconds at the final stop when I briefly stalled the car and that dropped me behind Kvyat, but I managed to get the position back with an overtake going into turn one.”
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