Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr believe the manufacturer can make gains in today's race in Bahrain, after falling short in Q3.
Renault's quickest time in Bahrain came during Q2, with Hulkenberg setting a time four-tenths slower in Q3.
Hulkenberg's time in Q3 left him eighth overall but will start seventh due to Lewis Hamilton's grid penalty, Sainz Jr will start in tenth.
“I would prefer to be fifth, but in Q3 things seemed to slip from our hands a little," said Hulkenberg
“My Q2 lap was wonderful, it was as good as it was going to get, but in Q3 it didn’t feel quite there.
“I couldn’t repeat the lap time otherwise we’d be in fifth.
“I think we’ll start seventh and we have every chance for a good result from there. Our race-pace was similar to our rivals, but our target is to beat them.”
Carlos Sainz Jr added:
“I’ve been chasing car balance the whole weekend and I wasn’t fully comfortable with the car during qualifying, finding it difficult to put a perfect lap together.
“However, I’ve been happier with the long runs and there are a lot more possibilities during the race, especially with the tyre degradation that we’ve seen at the moment."
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