Renault F1 team faces "make or break" grands prix - Nico Hulkenberg

After a disappointing first half to the campaign, where Renault failed to hit its targets, the team is hoping to bounce back when F1 resumes at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.

It is currently only sixth in the constructors' championship in a year when it hoped to moved closer to the top three and its best race result is Daniel Ricciardo's sixth in Canada in June.

"We know the season has fallen below our expectations so far, and it's up to us now to ensure we recover it for the remainder of the year," said Hulkenberg.

"[Over the summer] I relaxed a little, recharged the batteries on a boat in Croatia.

"But now it's time to get going again and I'm ready for the challenge.

"These next two back-to-back races are almost a make or break for our season. We have to be on it."

Team-mate Ricciardo reckons Renault will have benefited from time off over the summer to help it regroup.

"It's been a challenging season so far, we can't hide from that," said the Australian.

"There have been some positives, some things not so good, so the summer break was ideal for us.

"It was nice to take some time off, have a holiday in Los Angeles, and not think too much about racing. It was the same for the team, so hopefully we're all feeling refreshed now.

"We're targeting a better second-half of the season to catch our competitors.

"I know we can do it, we just need cleaner weekends."