Hülkenberg races to another top six finish

Nico Hülkenberg took his fifth six-placed finish of the season in Sunday's strategic Mexican Grand Prix.
Nico Hülkenberg on his way to sixth place in Sundays Mexican Grand PrixNico Hülkenberg on his way to sixth place in Sundays Mexican Grand Prix
Nico Hülkenberg on his way to sixth place in Sundays Mexican Grand Prix

That helped the Renault Sport F1 Team to establish a 30-point advantage over its nearest championship rival.

Enstone team-mate Carlos Sainz had been ahead of Hülkenberg on the road after a fine start but on lap 29 his car suffered from an electrical shutdown and he retired from the race.

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Hülkenberg said: “We’ve had two very good weekends in a row with a lot of points. From my side, it was a very calm and solid race, albeit a little lonely to get ourselves through on a one-stop strategy.

“We had to manage the car and the tyres through the race and the whole team did a good job all weekend. It was a shame to lose Carlos, otherwise we could have had sixth and seventh again and another strong haul of points for the team.

“But we’ve extended our lead in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship, so that’s very positive.”

Sainz said: “We were leading the midfield comfortably and in contention for some good points and then, without warning, the car shut down. It’s really frustrating after making such a good start on lap one, but that’s racing.

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“We’ve not had too many reliability issues this season, but when I have, it’s been when I’ve been leading the midfield. We’ll investigate the issue and move on.”

Team boss Cyril Abiteboul added: “All weekend we were able to show good pace in Mexico and that echoed our performance in Austin, this illustrates that our team continues to push hard right till the end.

“It was a very frustrating retirement for Carlos [Sainz] and everyone in the team. He was doing a fabulous job and would have also scored a good haul of points.”