Renault imposed team orders to secure points

Renault confirmed that it stepped in and intervened between its two drivers at the Canadian Grand Prix as it "needed the result".

Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth and seventh respectively, taking the team's first double points finish since USA 2018 (where it also finished P6 and P7)

Renault has endured a tough start to the 2019 season which inspired managing director Cyril Abiteboul to make the decision to ensure that both drivers came home with the points. 

“Probably Nico would have had the pace to overtake him, but frankly we said 'we need that result'," he said.

“I don't like to do that, it's not the style of the team, that's something that we don't intend to do on many occasions. I wanted to make sure that the team's back in the game, and the drivers will also be back in the game, their own game, from next week onwards.

"For this weekend it was important to get back as close as possible to the team that's still fourth, which is McLaren.”

Hulkenberg's car overheated behind Ricciardo

Hulkenberg revealed that he struggled to remain close to Ricciardo throughout the race as his car was overheating rapidly when he closed up.

However, the German says that perhaps he should have done a stronger job in qualifying in order to beat Ricciardo, who managed to secure fourth for the start of the race. 

"I had ten lap fresher tyres and had more pace in hand," Hulkenberg commented. "But when I pushed on to him my car started to overheat, the engine and brakes, and I started to get some brake fading.

"It was quite unfortunate that I couldn't get that done, but I guess I should have done a better job in qualifying yesterday."

Renault bringing upgrades to Paul Ricard

Hulkenberg added that Renault will be arriving at the French Grand Prix in two weeks' time with fresh upgrades in the hope that they will boost its prospects of finishing at the front of the midfield.

"It was nice to finally have a good weekend without any issues and hiccups to get both cars in good point scoring positions," the former Force India driver said.

"It was a nice result for everyone at Viry and Enstone, the hard work pays off. It's just that so far this year, we've been compromised.

"We have some upgrades coming at Paul Ricard so hopefully they will bring more performance to the car. Maybe we can close the gap," Hulkenberg concluded.