Jolyon Palmer was in a reflective mood after being forced to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix before it even began after a hydraulics problem on the formation lap relegated him to the role of spectator.
The Renault Sport F1 team driver believed the team had the potential to move up from its nineteenth on the grid during the race, and pointed out the race pace in Australia two weeks ago being significantly better than the qualifying pace as a good indicator that this could have been possible.
But all the 2014 GP2 Series champion wants to do now is put the disappointment of Sunday in the desert behind him so he can focus on the next race in China in two weeks time.
“Having got one Grand Prix under my belt, I was looking forward to racing today so I’m disappointed at not making it past the formation lap!” revealed Palmer. “I think we could have had a chance to move up the grid, especially after our strong performance in Melbourne.
“Everything was okay with the car until the last corner of the lap, but then I had to go straight into the pits. It looks like it was related to hydraulics and we’ll be looking into it with the team to understand what happened.
“These things can happen in racing, and I certainly want to move to the next race in China as quickly as possible.”
