Renault Sport Formula 1 Team driver Jolyon Palmer described the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix as a really “tough” race.
It had been a promising qualifying session for the Brit on Saturday, Palmer having made it through to the final Q3 shoot out for the first time in his F1 career, which saw him line up on the grid for Sunday’s race in an excellent tenth place.
The Brit’s confidence was therefore sky-high at the start of race day and Palmer felt he could be on for a solid points haul here in Bahrain. However, tyre wear proved to be a big problem for the Brit throughout, leaving him way down on pace for the majority of the grand prix.
That, along with a lengthy battle for position with McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team driver Fernando Alonso and Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat, on the resumption of the grand prix following the safety car, in the end compromised Palmer’s race, and dashed any hopes of a strong finish.
Instead the Brit finished down the order and some way off team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, who came home in the points, in ninth place.
“It was a tough race; I had a good fight with Alonso and Kvyat after the safety car bunched everyone up, but the couple of touches with Kvyat didn’t help things.
“I didn’t really have the pace to get further after that and the degradation seemed to be more for us than the cars around.
“It made for a difficult evening, unfortunately, where we struggled with a lack of pace.”
