Renault: Jolyon Palmer scores the first point of his career

The first corner of the Malaysian Grand Prix was quite eventful. With the collision between Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg, a chain reaction followed, pushing the back of the pack forward.

It’s in this little domino game that Kevin Magnussen lost his race, hit in the rear by a Daniil Kvyat in trouble while braking: « I was in the middle of the sandwich when everyone reacted to the incident between Vettel and Rosberg at the start. They all braked to dive into the inside of the corner, which is far from ideal if you’re already there and get pushed from the rear. That’s sometimes how racing is. »

The Dane insisted on the track but eventually had to resign to abandonment: « We changed the front wing while continuing our efforts, but the brake cooling was affected and the temperatures kept rising, forcing us to abandon. »

Starting from the back of the grid, Jolyon Palmer might not have expected to score the first point of his career at Sepang. However, the events of the first corner, which he emerged from without any issues, and a very long first stint on Hard tires allowed him to finish in a salvaging 10th place: “It feels good to be in the points! I’m really happy. I think the whole week has been really positive. The race was truly good – I wish it were always this simple! I was really disappointed with how qualifying went, especially since I felt strong throughout the weekend. So I’m delighted it went well for us to make up for it today.”

Enthusiastic remarks corroborated by Frédéric Vasseur, the team director of the team with the diamond logo: « Congratulations to Jo for his first point in F1. After a disappointing qualification yesterday, he kept his head down to deliver a very good performance. We chose an aggressive strategy and Jo did everything necessary to make it work. It’s a great effort both from his side and from the team. »