RENAULT’S drivers left Bahrain with mixed emotions ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth for the Enstone-based Formula 1 team, but Carlos Sainz was outside the points in 11th.

It leaves Renault fifth in the constructors’ championship after two races.

Hulkenberg started seventh and was running as high as fourth before pitting.

He was pleased to build on his seventh place at the season-opener in Australia.

The German said: “We got the maximum from the race, which is a positive.

“We didn’t quite have the pace to compete with the cars ahead of us and that leaves me a little disappointed, so it’s clear the midfield fight is very close.

“It was a busy race and our main focus was fuel saving whilst still trying to race other cars and I think we managed that quite well.”

Sainz qualified tenth, but was pipped to a points finish by Force India’s Esteban Ocon as he struggled with the soft tyres.

The 23-year-old said: “I was surviving in the end with very tired soft tyres and having to do a lot of fuel saving.

“I was stuck in traffic after both stops and we couldn’t really do a lot from there.

“It was a tough day, but luckily China is just around the corner and we will fight our way back to the points.”