Nico Hulkenberg reckons sixth position in the Bahrain Grand Prix was the maximum result possible for Renault, as he was unable to overhaul midfield rivals.
Hulkenberg’s time in Q2 would have been quick enough for fifth on the grid, but his Q3 effort was slower, leaving him seventh, from where he felt stronger race pace would assist his cause.
However, Hulkenberg was second-best on a first-lap battle against Kevin Magnussen and remained behind the Dane, as Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly cruised clear of both the Haas and Renault driver.
Sixth place for Hulkenberg equalled Renault’s best result since its return to Formula 1 in 2016, and the German felt that no more was possible under current circumstances.
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-120x86.webp)
“We got the maximum from the race, which is a good positive,” he said.
“We didn’t quite have the pace to compete with the cars ahead of us and that leaves me a little disappointed, so it’s clear the midfield fight is very close.
“It was a busy race and our main focus was fuel saving whilst still trying to race other cars and I think we managed that quite well.”
Team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. finished outside of the points as a late move from Esteban Ocon relegated him to 11th position.
“I was surviving in the end there with very tired Soft tyres and having to do a lot of fuel saving,” he said.
“We need to analyse what happened at the start because I had too much wheel spin and from there onwards the race was compromised.
“I was stuck in traffic after both stops and we couldn’t really do a lot from there.”
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-350x250.webp)
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