Renault Sport Formula One Team’s Jolyon Palmer ended the first day of the VTB Russian Grand Prix in 13th position on the timesheets, with a best lap time of 1m36.771s.
Jolyon’s FP1 ran to order with aerodynamic assessments and evaluations, using Pirelli’s soft and super-soft compounds. The 26-year-old Brit subsequently ran on the super-soft and ultra-soft tyres in FP2, although his session ended early due to an exhaust leak.
Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.17-01
Free practice 1: P15, 1:39.158, 16 laps
Free practice 2: P13, 1:36.771, 22 laps
Jolyon said: “The car felt pretty good straight out of the box, and I was able to push it without any particular issues. The front end felt good and there was good traction too, so I think we’ve made some nice progress with understanding the car and also with the new parts we’ve added. FP2 ended a little early for me, but I’m feeling positive for the rest of the weekend.”
Nick Chester, Renault Sport Formula One Team Technical Director, added: “We got some good mileage on our new aero package today. Jo had a useful morning looking at the aero package and doing some set-up work. This afternoon, we focused on completing our qualifying and long runs. So far, our short run pace looks reasonably good; we just need to analyse the race pace.”
“The car felt pretty good straight out of the box, and I was able to push it without any particular issues. I think we’ve made some nice progress with understanding the car and I’m feeling positive for the rest of the weekend.” Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport Formula One Team Driver