Jolyon Palmer has revealed that his Renault Sport Formula 1 Team have cured the issues that blighted his Australian Grand Prix weekend, and the Briton is looking at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix as his true start of the season.
Palmer endured a tough weekend at Albert Park, crashing during Friday while having technical issues for much of the weekend, with his race ending due to a braking issue, but the twenty-six-year-old is expecting a much better weekend this time around at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“It’s a clean slate approach for me as Australia was a bit of a shocker,” said Palmer. “Fortunately the team were able to find the particular gremlin which affected me over the weekend so I’m heading to Shanghai as if it’s my first race of the season. Nico’s shown the race potential so let’s get out there and make points happen.
“More time in the car is all that’s needed to lead to a much better weekend. It’s as simple as that. Albert Park was a really frustrating start to the season so I’m looking to get more laps on the board and more progress in the race.
“Obviously, there were many factors out of my hands in Australia, so the team’s checked over the car very carefully to ensure we don’t see a repeat of any of the same issues. From my side, I’ll be avoiding the walls very keenly too!”
Palmer believes that the 2017 cars should make it possible to attack the opening turn more, with the speed heading into the corner set to be much higher than in previous years, while other parts of the circuit should also please the drivers.
“We should really get a keen appreciation of the downforce,” said Palmer. “In the first corner we should be able to attack with a lot more speed – and the entry to it should be pretty fruity.
“The middle section should also put a smile on our faces. Every track we visit this year will be exploring new limits and China should be a great example of this.”
Photo Credit: Renault Sport Formula 1 Team
