Palmer satisfied despite Q3 gearbox trouble

2017 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying

Posted on

| Written by

Jolyon Palmer says he is still very happy with his performance in qualifying despite the fact he was unable to set a lap time in Q3 due to a gearbox issue.

Palmer secured only his second appearance in Q3 of the season by going quicker than Renault team mate Nico Hulkenberg in Q2, but the Briton was unable to set a representative lap in the final session after being forced to pull off circuit.

“I still feel very positive, but I think we should probably be seventh on the grid and not tenth,” says Palmer.

“The other thing is we have a risk of a grid penalty now – it was a gearbox problem. I’m still very happy because think Q1 and Q2 were very easy, in practice three, we were quick all day. The pace was there to be seventh, it’s just the shame the car couldn’t hang on.”

Asked after qualifying what the reason was behind his strong performance through the weekend, Palmer admitted he was unable to explain.

“I don’t know,” Palmer says. “I just turned up driven. The car’s been in a good place, except for practice one.

“I’ve been very happy with it. I haven’t had to make many changes. I have a confidence in it that I haven’t had in a while. I’m feeling good. I think a bit of altitude training’s done me something good and I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

2017 Belgian Grand Prix

Browse all 2017 Belgian Grand Prix articles

Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

9 comments on “Palmer satisfied despite Q3 gearbox trouble”

  1. Oh dear, for the first time all season Palmer had a real chance to do well, and then he is struck (again) by technical problems. Hopefully he can continue his strong form from practice into the race, despite a possible grid penalty.

    1. Too late. He is being replaced for next season. Renault already decided. #keepitasecret #paddockmysteries

  2. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
    26th August 2017, 18:03

    This is such a shame.

    He was 7th in Q2 and about 0.25 quicker than Hulkenberg. Ahead of both Force Indias too. Even when Ocon, Perez and Hulkenberg did their Q3 laps, they still were several tenths slower than Palmers Q2 time. Palmer looked the best of the rest today behind the top 3 teams and I didn’t see this coming. His luck is unbelievably bad this season though and that is certainly making him look a bit worse than he is.

  3. Yes, he was very good in qualifying… If he starts 12th because of the penalty and finishes in the points Renault should be pleased.

  4. Renault have let Palmer down a few times now when it matters…but a few performances like today, may just see him staying longer than most people reckon…..

    1. One swallow does not make a summer

  5. Interestingly this is the 1st time since Bahrain that Palmer is running an identical spec car & engine to Hulkenberg.

    And from what I was told before the summer break at times the difference between the 2 cars hasn’t even been 1 spec, Palmer has been as much as 4 specs behind Hulkenberg in terms of some of the wing/floor upgrades & with some of the engine upgrades he’s been behind the estimated performance difference between specs has been well over half a second.

    This & the unreliability he’s suffered is the primary reason the team haven’t been as harsh on him as many fans & media people have been saying they should have been.
    What I was told was that had he had the struggles he’s had without the unreliability & while having equal equipment to Nico the team would have looked at replacing him more seriously but since they can see that the unreliability & spec differences have played a significant role in his struggles they feel it would be unfair to be too critical of him publicly let alone replace him during the year.

    They plan to give him equipment parity more often from now until the end of the year & will evaluate him based on those performances rather than the weekends he’s a spec or more behind.

  6. Renault needs to provide him with a reliable car, it seems like he the one getting most lemon out of the lot.

  7. Palmer is back! (With Renault technical problems)….as usual..
    They never give him a chance do they? First half he was hit by technical issues and late updates on the car (HUL allways have them first) and now again… think he is much better than the results!

Comments are closed.