He got his first points for the team at the third race of the season in Bahrain with 9th place, followed by 8th in Russia. Hülkenberg then finished in 6th place in Spain, Renault's best result in the sport since returning in 2016. His point scoring streak ended in Monaco when he retired, when running in the points, with gearbox issues. He finished 8th in Canada, which was followed by a retirement in Azerbaijan, when he clumsily clipped the wall while running in a promising 6th place. In Austria, he finished 13th, finishing behind his teammate Jolyon Palmer for the first time, following a bad start.