Jolyon Palmer finished the eighth round of the 2016 Formula 1 season in fifteenth for Renault Sport Formula 1 Team.
The Briton had a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday for the European Grand Prix after he made a mistake on his final timed lap. Finishing the session for the Enstone-based outfit in twenty-second, behind team-mate Kevin Magnussen. With Magnussen receiving a five place grid penalty for a gearbox change, Palmer was promoted to twenty-first.
Renault had different tyre strategies for their drivers, for Palmer he started the Grand Prix on the Supersoft Pirelli compound. His first pit stop he changed to a new Soft compound but then returned to the Supersoft compound to complete the race.
After driving the Baku City Circuit for the first time in race conditions on Sunday, Palmer admits it’s a fun track to drive but believes it’s a shame that Renault didn’t have the car to produce better performance.
“We showed once again that our race pace is a lot better than our qualifying pace, which I am thankful for,” said Palmer. “I had a big flat spot on the soft tyres which meant I had to change; up until then the pace was quite strong.
“The supersofts did well as well but it was tough to make up the time it takes to pit. That and making a mistake at the start pretty much decided my race. It’s a fun track to drive, it’s just a shame that we didn’t have the car for it today.”
