05/06/2019
NEWS STORY
An early incident in Monaco damaged Nico Hulkenberg's chances of scoring points. And after showing encouraging pace in clean air during the race, the German is feeling positive heading to Canada for round seven.
How much do you enjoy racing in Canada?
Nico Hulkenberg: I love the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. The circuit is great, the city is really cool and the Canadian fans create a superb atmosphere. Montréal always embraces Formula 1 when it comes to town and there's a real buzz about the place.
What are the challenges of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
NH: The circuit itself is a mix of a permanent track and a street course based on an island, which makes it unique. It has a nice flow to it: long straights, fast sweeping corners, hairpins and big kerbs to ride.
We have a low downforce configuration for Montréal so the car feels a little light coming out the slower speed corners. To be quick there, attacking the kerbs and being brave by getting close to the walls is very important. It's a difficult circuit for brakes and you have to be confident when going deep into the corners. It's a difficult place for overtaking, but the final chicane has seen many famous moves in the past and that's probably the best opportunity.
What are your post-Monaco thoughts heading into Canada?
NH: We left Monaco feeling disappointed as there was potential for a strong team result given our solid race pace in clean air. We need to get back scoring regular points. After Monaco, I felt very encouraged by improvements made to the car but our competitiveness level was not illustrated by the results. Canada is our next opportunity to get our season back on track and we'll be doing everything we can to return to the top ten.
Daniel Ricciardo left Monaco with two points but knew there was potential for so much more. Now the Australian has his sights set on Montréal at the circuit that delivered his maiden Formula 1 victory.
What do you like about the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
Daniel Ricciardo: The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is my type of race track. It's another street-based circuit where walls are close, there are kerbs to ride and there's no room for driver error. There aren't many corners there, but still, it's a tricky track to get right as each corner is complex and you need to get in a good flow to combine them all together. It's good to go straight into Canada on the back of racing on a street circuit as we're already quite dialled in. The circuit is usually a little dirty in the early running as it's not used that often, but once it's rubbered in we'll be up to speed.
What makes Canada so special for you?
DR: Canada will always be a memorable place for me, as it's where I won my first Formula 1 race in 2014. We had to battle from sixth on the grid and were fortunate with some problems for other cars ahead of us, but nevertheless, winning for the first time was incredibly special and something I'll never forget!
How do you look back on the Monaco Grand Prix?
DR: It was very frustrating to leave Monaco with just two points, as we should have been in the mix for a lot more. We missed an opportunity and we have to learn from that. Looking at the positives, the car felt good during qualifying and the race and I'm pleased with how we put the work in to progress through the weekend. We'll look at what happened, push for improvements as best we can ahead of Canada and go there expecting to be in and amongst it.