Jolyon Palmer believes he is driving to a similar level to when he was winning GP2 in 2014 despite still waiting for his first top ten finish of his Formula 1 career.
The Briton is in his first Formula 1 season with Renault Sport Formula 1 Team and has yet to score any points for the Enstone-based outfit, with the team enduring a difficult season after returning to the championship as a manufacturer outfit following its takeover of Lotus.
Currently Palmer has retired from four Grand Prix, but even with these retirements, Palmer believes he is getting more consistent.
“I feel like I turned a corner after Monaco,” Palmer told Autosport. “I started well in Melbourne, but the next few races were more difficult for me, with Monaco a tough weekend [crashing out in the wet].
“But after that, pace-wise I’ve been there or thereabouts, and with every race I’ve been getting stronger and stronger. I’m getting more consistent, and I feel like I’m driving to a similar level to that when I was winning GP2, but now in F1.
“So I feel like I’m driving really well without making many mistakes.”
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Palmer was close to achieving points but spun out of tenth place. Even with this struggle, Palmer feels he has learned a lot and is driving really well.
“It’s been frustrating, especially how I know I was driving in GP2 when I won it,” added Palmer. “In the early races I was making a few too many mistakes, sometimes a step behind really.
“In Hungary I spun out of 10th place, which was a massive shame. One corner in the whole race I got wrong, but apart from that I felt like I was dragging the best out of the car.
“In F1 it is more complicated when you have all the different FP1 sessions, the car evolves through the weekend, the track evolves through the weekend. The competition is constantly finding the gains and you’ve got to keep with it.
“But I feel like I’ve learned a lot and that I’m driving really well.”
