Renault perplexed by performance swing in "strange" Spanish GP

Renault is unsure why it encountered a performance swing at the Spanish GP, where its race pace was stronger than qualifying form for the first time in 2017.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault Sport F1 Team RS17

Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RS17, Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren MCL32

Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RS17, leaves his pit box after a stop

The French manufacturer has made gains relative to last season, when it returned to F1 through its takeover of Lotus.

But in the opening four race weekends, strong qualifying performances - such as getting both cars into Q3 in Bahrain - were followed by lacklustre race pace.

In Spain, Nico Hulkenberg qualified 13th and Jolyon Palmer 17th but on race day, the former combined a strong start - where he rose to seventh - and smart strategy in a race where several frontrunners encountered problems to finish sixth.

"It was a strange weekend for us because usually we [have] very good qualifying and more difficult Sundays," Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul told Motorsport.com. "This time, it was a little bit the opposite."

When asked what influenced the swing in performance, Abiteboul replied: "I don't know."

He added: "We were really surprised, extremely frustrated and a bit shocked frankly by our pace in qualifying. It was not at all what we were expecting coming from FP2 and FP3, but the race pace was more encouraging."

Abiteboul hinted it could have been down to the conditions at Barcelona, where all of the teams struggled with the wind and getting the tyres into the right window.

"We have some explanations," he added. "I think it's a mix of things like all teams.

"It's difficult to predict how the tyres are going to operate and, if you're in the window, where they need to be - we're still trying to find our feet in that area.

"We have engineered a car that is more sensitive to the ambient conditions, but our car in particular is more sensitive, I believe, to traffic but also to crosswinds - so that is going to be an area of research.

"If there is one element that changed, the wind picked up a bit - that may be an area to look at. The wind is the same for everyone but it might be that wind is affecting us more than most."

Sixth was Renault's best finish since it returned to F1 and helped the team leapfrog Haas for seventh in the constructors' championship.

"It was an encouraging weekend," he said. "It's a bit the circumstance in which this has happened. So we don't get too excited. We need to look back, we need to be busy, keep our heads down and focus."