Renault Sport Formula 1 Team Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul has hit out at Jolyon Palmer for his poor performance at the Malaysian Grand Prix,
The Brit was having a relatively quiet race and looked to be on for a good result, though two spins saw him drop down the order and lose precious places. This is something even he doesn’t understand completely
“The start of the race wasn’t great. I was then following Nico for a good part and there were a few good overtakes. After that I lost the car and I don’t really know why, it came as a surprise and we pretty much lost the race from there. We move on and look ahead to next week.”
Whilst Palmer seems quite relaxed about the situation, Abiteboul does not.
“The team had a tough weekend that ended with a bad race. Apart from qualifying, we couldn’t get the car working properly as we had done in previous races.
“Jolyon was in a similar place to Nico before he spun his car twice, which made him lose a few positions and ultimately led to bad results.
“It’s the last time we want to see this and we will take the necessary measures to better understand our lack of performance this weekend. I am confident that we will recover and will be back on the track in Suzuka.”
Palmer has already lost his seat in the team for next season to Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr., though has finished above teammate Nico Hulkenberg in every race since that announcement.
Despite Abiteboul’s strong tone he did have one positive thing to say; though unfortunately for Palmer, it was about a different team.
“On another note, I’d like to congratulate Red Bull Racing for the double-podium finish. It was a great effort from the whole team here in Malaysia and it’s great to see our partner team succeed!”
Palmer’s single points finish, in the Singapore Grand Prix, is enough to see him reach seventeenth in the Driver’s Championship.
