Renault Sport Formula One Team’s preparations for the British Grand Prix got underway today (14 July) at Silverstone. Jolyon Palmer’s start to his home event was slightly interrupted, but he nevertheless got 41 laps under his belt with a best time of 1m30.879s.

In FP1, Jolyon used Pirelli’s medium and super-soft tyres, before running on soft and super-soft rubber in FP2. The 26-year-old Brit completed a standard Friday programme, with tyre evaluation over long and short runs plus a qualifying simulation in the afternoon. He was unfortunate to lose some running in the morning, and he ended his afternoon session early with a clutch problem.

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.17-01
Free practice 1: P18, 1:32.450, 16 laps
Free practice 2: P18, 1:30.879, 25 laps

Jolyon said: “I missed half the morning with an MGU-K shaft that needed replacing, but when I did get some running in, I was pretty happy with the car. The afternoon started okay and I was happy with the car on the soft tyres, but when I put on the super-soft tyres, I found there wasn’t any grip. I had a spin and then struggled to get them working correctly. Unfortunately then we had to stop the car on a long run with a clutch problem. We will hope for better luck tomorrow!”

Bob Bell, Renault Sport Formula One Team Chief Technical Officer, added: “A slightly mixed afternoon for us. Jo had a clutch problem in the afternoon, on top of the mechanical issue in the morning and never got a fair crack at a time, but overall for the team, I think we have had a productive day and look forward to qualifying tomorrow.”