Jolyon Palmer’s frustrating rookie Formula 1 season continued on the opening day of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, as, after sitting out first practice to allow test driver Esteban Ocon some track time in the RS16, he was heavily compromised by a high speed puncture down the start/finish straight in second practice,
The Renault Sport F1 team driver was forced to stop with a completely destroyed left-rear tyre at turn one, which caused the session to be stopped while they rescued the car, with Palmer only returning to the track with twenty minutes of the session remaining to try and catch up on some of the time lost in the pits.
The most worrying thing for Palmer, and for Renault, is that the cause for the puncture has yet to be determined, and even more worrying was that Ocon himself also suffered a puncture in FP1.
“That was pretty unfortunate,” revealed Palmer. “We don’t know what caused the puncture and it was frustrating to lose so much track time.
“We thought we might not be able to get out again after the car was recovered, however my crew was able to do a fantastic job to repair the damage so I’m thankful for those laps at the end of the session.
“Fortunately, Barcelona’s a track I know well so I’m looking forward to a busy day behind the wheel tomorrow.”
