Daniel Ricciardo believes Renault has the car to challenge for regular Q3 appearances, but says a lack of consistency makes it hard to read and the tight midfield means small mistakes prove very costly.
Ricciardo squeezed through to Q2 by only a fraction of a second as Renault struggled for pace on Saturday as team-mate Nico Hulkenberg failed to escape the bottom five, but in the second session the Australian looked to have found some form and made it through to the top-ten shoot-out, but again struggled and finished slowest.
Ricciardo says the fact the midfield is so close combined with the R.S.19's inconsistency means Renault's results have been mixed and their position in the pecking order still remains somewhat of a mystery.
"I feel like every race we've had a car good enough to do it [get to Q3], it is just not always that easy," he said. "The midfield is so tight so if you do make a little mistake you are missing out.
"Sometimes the car is like we are pretty good, and then next session it might be not like it was. So it is still a little bit hard to read and lacks some consistency.
"Yesterday morning I felt like the car was good. I was like, sweet. We didn't change too much, but it felt like we just fell off the pace [in FP3]. Then in qualifying we were able to get it back. And get closer to where we needed to be.
"But we know some reasons why with set up but it is not always that clear. So it is probably still a bit off. Sometimes a bit of a nightmare to get it in that window."
Ricciardo admitted he has to work harder driving the Renault compared to the Red Bull: "I don't want to say you don't work hard there, but yeah it is a bit harder to get it right.
"Red Bull is known for having a very strong car, downforce and a strong rear. For example, Turn 3 here and 9, that was relatively comfortable with the Red Bull, but here sometimes it is not always flat or that easy.
"You have to work a bit harder. Also I maybe have to re-adjust at some points, and maybe it is better not to try and take it full if I am sliding, maybe lift a little bit and look after the tyres for the next corner."
