Renault Sport Formula One Team’s Jolyon Palmer endured a frustrating Chinese Grand Prix today (9 April), finishing 13th after an eventful race at Shanghai International Circuit.
Jolyon started from the pit-lane after pitting at the end of the formation lap to change from intermediates to new super-soft tyres, but any potential benefit was undone by a Virtual Safety Car period immediately afterwards. He stopped for new soft tyres on lap 30 and crossed the finish line just two seconds behind team-mate Nico Hülkenberg.
Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.17-01
Started P20 (from pit-lane), Finished P13
Jolyon said: “It was a difficult race. We made the right call to pit at the end of the formation lap but I hit a wet patch when racing a Toro Rosso, then the tyres lost temperature under the Virtual Safety Car so it was a very difficult first stint. On the plus side, the car ran reliably and I have a race distance under my belt now. We will reset and head to Bahrain with the objective of a much better weekend.”
Cyril Abiteboul, Renault Sport Formula One Team Managing Director, added: “Ultimately, this has been a frustrating weekend for us and the race did not deliver the results we wanted. Jolyon suffered from the Virtual Safety Car affecting his strategy, and after that we were on damage limitation. We are disappointed to end the second grand prix with no points, however the positives are that we showed both pace and reliability here. We need to harness our potential better in the coming races.”
“It was a difficult race, but on the plus side, the car ran reliably and I have a race distance under my belt now. We will reset and head to Bahrain with the objective of a much better weekend.” Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport Formula One Team Driver