Renault pair Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. believe the manufacturer can make gains in race trim in Bahrain, after again falling short during the final segment of qualifying.
As in Melbourne, Renault’s quickest time during qualifying came in Q2, with Hulkenberg four-tenths slower in Q3 than his previous effort, and Sainz Jr. also failing to improve on his previous best.
Hulkenberg’s Q3 effort left him eighth overall, though he will start from seventh due to Lewis Hamilton’s five-place demotion, with Sainz Jr. set to round out the top 10 on the grid.
“I would prefer to be fifth, but in Q3 things seemed to slip from our hands a little,” said Hulkenberg.
“My Q2 lap was wonderful, it was as good as it was going to get, but in Q3 it didn’t feel quite there.
“I couldn’t repeat the lap time otherwise we’d be in fifth.
“I think we’ll start seventh and we have every chance for a good result from there. Our race-pace was similar to our rivals, but our target is to beat them.”
Added Sainz Jr: “I’ve been chasing car balance the whole weekend and I wasn’t fully comfortable with the car during qualifying, finding it difficult to put a perfect lap together.
“However, I’ve been happier with the long runs and there are a lot more possibilities during the race, especially with the tyre degradation that we’ve seen at the moment.
“That opens up a lot more windows so we’ll be ready for it. I’m convinced we can move up the grid and have a good one.”
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