Renault director: Hulkenberg and Sainz making 'massive' contribution

Renault's chassis technical director Nick Chester has heaped praise on Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz for their input in the development of the vehicle for the new Renault works team, hailing their 'massive' contributions to making sure the car is in top condition.

Renault are looking to compete as much as possible with the bigger teams such as Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull, and although these teams may be out of sight, they have the resources to beat the likes of Force India and Williams to fourth place.

Hulkenberg may not even have notched up a podium position in his 137 Grand Prix races, but Chester has still praised his driver, as well as Sainz, for their expert contribution to car development.

"It is massively important. The really great thing about Nico is that he is really consistent, he is really quick, and he tells you exactly where the problems are that are slowing him down," Chester told Autosport.

"He says, 'this is the most important thing for me, if you work on this I will go quicker' and then you don't need to worry about a whole load of other stuff.

"So in terms of prioritising what you do, it is super important. And then Carlos is pretty much the same. He has got really good feedback and is quick, so with the two of them we have got some really good information to work with.

"It makes a massive difference."

Sainz, meanwhile, has been with Renault since October when he replaced Jolyon Palmer in the middle of the season. Chester has praised the way his newest drive has quickly adapt to the new surroundings.

"He liked the car straight away," Chester said of Sainz.

"He could feel it had more grip and downforce, a slightly different balance to what he is used to, but he is obviously very good and he adapted to it pretty quickly.

"Now he is thinking hard and working with us really well on how we adapt the balance more to his liking and that will help both cars."