Hulkenberg: First lap of Bahrain GP was like a war zone

Nico Hulkenberg says that the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix was "like a warzone", as the German driver started from 17th on the grid and worked his way up through the field.

Hulkenberg was out of position due to a number of problems in qualifying, but battled is way through a chaotic opening lap to cross the line in 11th going into lap two. He then managed to drive a good race, which saw him running in P6 for the majority of the afternoon until his Renault suffered a fatal problem. 

“I did a pretty good job,” he said. “A great drive and came through that very nicely. Lap one was like a war zone. It was crazy, cars all over the place, contact, sparks, parts flying around. One I got hit in the helmet.

“Everything was in that race, it was a spectacular race to be in; I did a lot of overtaking, which is fun. So it would have been really nice to reward myself and the team with those points. We just need to bounce back another time.”

Hulkenberg's teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, also suffered an issue moments after his own, as its suspected his MGU-K put him out of the race. Hulkenberg stressed that the French manufacturer must get a handle on their reliability problems.

“We have a history with those problems so we need to get on top of them, we need to do it quickly,” he said. “For sure, it is a hard one to swallow, not just for me, it is for everyone.

“That is when you realise that F1 is a team sport. The engine guys at Viry will be very devastated and down. There is no point hammering on them. We need to work as a unit and help each other."