NICO Hulkenberg is urging Renault to build on a good start to the Formula 1 season in this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Enstone-based team sit fifth in the constructors’ standings with 25 points after three races.

Hulkenberg has picked up 22 of those and is eyeing a fourth successive top-ten finish, with the team debuting a chassis upgrade in Baku.

The German said: “It’s a positive start to the season.

“It’s good to be at the front end of the midfield.

“It’s important to keep picking up a good number of points to make sure we are in the hunt.

“It’s about continuing on this upward trajectory and putting the work in to make sure we are ahead of our rivals.”

Teammate Carlos Sainz finished ninth in China a fortnight ago and is hopeful of improvement.

He said: “I have had the chance to try different set-ups in the car.

“I’m confident we’re heading in the right direction.

“We have to keep up the good work and always try to improve to bring as many points home as possible.”

Lance Stroll stood on the podium in Baku 12 months ago, but it would be bold for Williams to expect a repeat performance.

The Grove-based team are yet to score a point, showing a slight improvement at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai two weeks ago.

Stroll said: “I have some great memories of Baku.

“Since it is a street circuit, there is no room for errors.”

Teammate Sergey Sirotkin added: “It was a good track for the team last year as they had good success, so I’m looking forward to getting there and going racing.”

The Banbury-prepared Haas team will bid to turn their strong pace into results.

Despite impressing during the early parts of the weekend, only Kevin Magnussen has scored points.

Teammate Romain Grosjean is hopeful of getting off the mark tomorrow.

He said: “We haven’t had much luck yet.

“I know it’s going to come our way at some point.

“Hopefully, that’s going to be in Baku.”

Magnussen added: “It’s true that we have a very good car this year – it’s very well balanced.

“But it’s going to be very difficult to predict how we’re going to be in Baku, as we don’t know what other teams are going to bring in terms of special packages for that circuit.”