After returning to Formula One as a factory team in the 2016 campaign, RenaultF1 is looking at another tough season according to their new driver, Nico Hulkenberg.
The French based squad's first season back in the sport saw them languishing down in ninth place in the constructors championship and while many expect a big shake up with the new regulations coming in for 2017, Hulkenberg believes that his new team will spend another year building things up.
"I think next year is still a build-up year. We have to be realistic," he was quoted as saying on Motorsport.com. "This year they come from a pretty difficult year, and obviously when they bought the team last year they were in a very tricky situation, especially at the beginning of the season.โ
However, that said, the German driver, who helped Force India to a record fourth place, is hopeful that next season will be betterโฆ.
โ They didn't do much in terms of development of this car [RS16], so I hope next year is a little bit better already. But I don't expect to be there in the top six straight away, even top 10 is going to be challenging. These things take long - to build an infrastructure back up and get good people back on board and develop the car."