Renault drowns in its China strategy
Renault had a great chance to shine, with Nico Hülkenberg seventh on the grid. But the team's daring strategy didn't pay off. The German finished 12th, just ahead of his team-mate Jolyon Palmer.
In Australia, Nico Hülkenberg finished just outside the points in 11th place. He didn’t manage to score any points in China either, as he couldn’t do better than 12th place. This was due to an unconventional strategy that saw him dive into the pit lane at the end of the first lap to switch to slick tires.
But this offensive strategy was nullified by the virtual safety car deployed to allow the evacuation of Lance Stroll’s Williams: « We took a risk at the end of the first lap by putting on slicks. The track was dry everywhere except the pit straight. When I resumed the race, Stroll went out and that triggered the virtual safety car. »
The problem with these periods of neutralization is that the drivers, by definition, have to drive much slower, which lowers the temperature of the tires. In conditions as wet as today’s, this amounts to driving with ice-cold tires, which therefore have no grip, as the German driver lamented: « When you can’t push in wet conditions, you lose all the tire temperature. The grip slipped away from me. It was like driving on ice and I made a few mistakes… From that moment, the virtual safety car ruined our strategy and our race. It’s a shame because I believe the day could really have gone well for us. »
Nico Hülkenberg’s race was all the more complicated as he received a 15-second penalty for overtaking under the safety car regime. He therefore lost even more time during his second and final stop.
In its misfortune, the team had decided to adopt the same strategy for its second driver, Jolyon Palmer. He, relegated to the back of the grid, had even chosen to start from the pit lane directly with dry-weather tires. Just like his teammate, the strategy did not work: « It was a difficult race. We made the right choice by stopping at the end of the formation lap, but I hit a wet patch during a battle with a Toro Rosso. The tires then lost their temperature with the virtual safety car. So the first stint was very tough. »
Renault can therefore console itself by remembering an interesting level of performance and reliability on a traditional circuit, which may bode well for the rest of the season.
