Jolyon Palmer impressively drove the R.S.17 into third position, posting a time of 1:21.778 on Thursday, the final day of the first pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Despite his session being preceded by the changing of the power unit, Palmer was able to complete 39 laps, consisting of wet weather tyre assessments and aerodynamic evaluations. Unfortunately the delay did mean the track had started to dry by the time the Renault was ready, limiting his time on the wet and intermediate compounds.
“It was another good afternoon even if I didn’t get much of a chance to try the wet tyres,” he said. “We’ve continued to improve the car and that’s exactly what you want to achieve from pre-season testing.”
Overall the Brit was satisfied with the progress achieved over the last few days, and is confident that there is still more to come.
“I think we can be really happy with where we’ve got to at the end of this first test and we’re definitely looking positively to next week,” he added. “The car is improving all the time in terms of feel and pace with more to come than has been seen on the timing monitors so far.”
Palmer will be the first back in the car for Renault Sport Formula 1 Team on Tuesday when the second pre-season test begins.
