Jolyon Palmer insists there is no reason to panic about the lack of British drivers in Formula 1, despite the retirement of Jenson Button meaning there is likely to be only two on the grid in 2017.
Renault Sport Formula 1 Team racer Palmer, who made his debut in 2016, and Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver Lewis Hamilton, a three-time World Champion, are the only two Brit’s on the grid in 2017, meaning numbers are at their joint-lowest numbers for thirty years, but the twenty-five-year-old believes there are plenty of young drivers coming through junior formulae to come in when they are ready.
“[There is] no need to panic about the British drivers,” said Palmer to BBC Sport. “There have always been a lot of good Brits that have been knocking on the door of F1. We’ve still got two, which is a reasonable amount, especially when one is in a championship-winning position.
“I’m sure we will be well represented in GP2, GP3, Formula 3 and it will be a matter of time before someone else comes in.
“There is such a heritage of British drivers and eight out of 11 teams are based in the UK, a lot of junior teams as well. So I think British motorsport is still in a good place.”
