Nico Hulkenberg joked he was surprised to still score a point at the British Grand Prix, in the wake of several setbacks.
Hulkenberg struggled for tyre life, was clipped by Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, and suffered an engine drop out that cost him crucial lap time.
Hulkenberg nonetheless moved back into the top 10 during the closing stages by overhauling the tyre-limited Alexander Albon.
“I think we left some points on the table not really getting the strategy right in my eyes, pitting too late in the first stop as I was really in trouble with my tyres,” said Hulkenberg.
“The safety car was not perfect for me and my race, I got hit by Checo after the restart which I lost one position to Kimi [Raikkonen], then we had an engine problem.
“I lost engine power for the entire Hangar Straight to go into kind of a limp home mode, got it back after a few default actions.
“All in all not fantastic. Quite surprising to get a point after all those problems.”
Renault displayed improved pace compared to its subdued showing in Austria but Hulkenberg nonetheless underlined the need for the team to improve its R.S.19.
“Austria I think was a standout, it didn’t work for us there, [at Silverstone it] was back to more normal and we were more competitive in the midfield,” he said.
“But you see it’s very tight with McLaren, Toro Rosso, even Alfa Romeo and Racing Point often.
“It is what it is with the car. I think to really help ourselves we still need upgrades and to change some of the characteristics.”
