Jolyon Palmer completed the first day of testing for Renault Sport F1 at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The Briton completed a total of 37 laps behind the wheel of their RS16, Renault’s first Formula 1 car in over six years after completing the takeover of the Lotus F1 Team during the off-season, and finished the session with a fastest lap time of 1m29.356s.
His fastest lap time led him to finish bottom of the timesheet after a software issue compromised his running, leading him to finish the session almost 4.5 seconds behind pacesetter Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Ferrari.
For 2014 GP2 Series champion Palmer, it was a great moment to drive their challenger for the first time this season despite the problems.
“It was great to take to the track for the first time in the car I will race this season,” said Palmer. “We didn’t have too exciting a programme to run through today and it was somewhat disjointed, but it was the first day of testing and we’ve completed valuable aspects of the pre-season build-up today.
“I’m looking forward to getting more running in the car tomorrow.”
Palmer will be in action once more for Renault tomorrow when pre-season testing continues in Barcelona.
