Renault Sport Formula One Team’s Jolyon Palmer endured a tough qualifying session ahead of tomorrow’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, and will line up 19th on the grid at Albert Park.
Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.17-01
Qualifying: P20, 1:28.244 (P19 with a grid penalty ahead)
FP3: P19, 1:28.320
Jolyon said: “Today really didn’t go to plan. I didn’t have any grip and I struggled with the brakes, so we need to know what went wrong. Yesterday, the car felt much better and was faster on the soft tyres with a much higher fuel load, so there’s something not quite right. It’s been pretty far from the weekend I wanted to start the season so far, but let’s see what happens in the race.”
Alan Permane, Renault Sport Formula One Team Sporting Director, added: “There’s frustration for Jo, and we will have a close look at the data and his car ahead of the race as he’s clearly capable of much better things. He has a lot of work to do tomorrow and we’ve nothing to lose by being ambitious with his strategy.
“It will be the first race with these cars under the new regulations, so it’s going to be interesting to see how it pans out. It’s clear we’ve made a huge jump over the winter and we’ve got a lot more to come from the R.S.17.”
“Today really didn’t go to plan. I didn’t have any grip and I struggled with the brakes, so we need to know what went wrong. Yesterday, the car felt much better and was faster on the soft tyres with a much higher fuel load, so there’s something not quite right.” Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport Formula One Team Driver