F1: Jolyon Palmer on the Brink of Redundancy

Chris

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Renault Sport's Formula One head honcho has issued a clear warning to the young Brit as the season nears it's midway point.


Jolyon Palmer has not had the best start to his 2017 Formula One season. Actually, that's being too generous. Jolyon Palmer has had an absolutely disastrous start to his 2017 Formula One season.

A spate of rookie-mistakes from a non-rookie, clumsy collisions, being thoroughly out-classed by his teammate and most crucially; scoring zero points thus far, has meant that Jolyon has rather placed himself on the chopping block in the unforgiving world of F1. This week has seen the most serious threat to his drive yet, as none other than the Renault F1 team principle, Cryril Abiteboul, come out and straight up admit that Jolyon must start delivering from here on out, or else they'll have no hesitation in replacing him.

I'm paraphrasing there, but behind all the media-jargon and spin, that's essentially the crux of what he said.

"F1 is not an environment where anyone can say loudly, 'I'm safe'. To a certain degree there are two questions. There is Jo, and there is a second driver. Right now my focus is on Jo. Jo has to deliver. What would happen then, I don't want to elaborate on that, and even further, who would be stepping in, because that's absolutely not the point for today.

"The fact is that Jo has a car which is a point-scoring car, and he has to enter into the points. Full stop."

This is as clear an indication that a driver lineup change may well be on the cards when F1 returns to action in Belgium.

Enter Robert Kubica.

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The Polish driver who last drove for Renault F1 back in 2010 when they were formerly known as Lotus. No no, the other Lotus... Lotus Enstone. Confused? Don't worry, welcome to F1. Anyway, earlier this week, Renault offered Kubica the chance to test the 2013 Lotus at the Valencia circuit to see how he would cope in the tight confines of a Formula One car after his horrific injuries sustained while rallying before the start of the 2011 F1 season.

He's lucky to be alive, let alone drive a Formula One car. Many believed he many never set foot in an open wheeler again. But some six years later, here we are. The test he conducted was deemed a success as Renault were very impressed with his speed. He'll obviously be a little rough around the edges, which is to be expected, especially after being away from the circus for so long, but to cover an entire Grand Prix weekend's distance in one day of running is incredibly impressive.

Prior to his accident, Robert was one of the up and coming stars of F1. Having given Sauber their first and only win in 2008, Robert's speed and car control was up there with the likes of Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel. Many paddock insiders believed he may have been better than the lot of them, he just needed the car under him to achieve it. But unfortunately it wasn't to be.

So here we are. An unimpressive and under-delivering Palmer threatened with the axe, Robert Kubica gets back in an F1 car and Renault start saying lots of warm and fuzzy things about him. If Jolyon can't save his sinking ship fast, which let's be honest, is highly unlikely as he's taken on too much water already, could we see the return of Robert Kubica in time for the Belgian Grand Prix?

And if not Robert, then who?

Alonso has been seen talking with Renault personnel recently and rumours of a 2018 drive are looking likely, but he's almost certainly going to be blocked by McLaren when it comes to a mid-season move. There's also Esteban Gutierrez, who has said he will continue to try to make his F1 career work, but after several years of trying, he resembles a Mexican version of Palmer more than anything else.

Renault have a problem. They need results, and Palmer isn't giving them that. The driver market is looking somewhat thin at the moment as the good ones are either already tied into contracts, or they're simply not interested in getting involved in the Renault F1 project.

Who would you take? Let us know in the comments.
 
I'm all for it, Jolyon is up there with Stroll as the worst driver in F1, who at least has the excuse of extreme lack of experience(and Stroll just had his first "not awful" result).
And specially now with the Kubica possibility, it's actually kind of exciting.
 
  • Deleted member 130869

"Enter Robert Kubica."

Best part of the article, that introduction :inlove:.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Unfortunately it looks like Palmer's confidence is completely shot, remember he was quicker and more consistent than KMag at the end of last season, competing with Hulk has completely destroyed him it's sad to say but Renault need points scorers and Palmer just cant do it.

What a story it would be if Kubica came back, even if he came back now and struggled somewhat it is no worse than Palmer and the PR and goodwill would be worth any downsides to what is a car company trying to sell cars.

I'm betting after the summer break Kubica will be driving.
 
I'll be surprised if he sees the chequered flag in Dhabi.
@Lazarou - I don't rate KMag highly, I just don't see anything extra special. I think there is better talent around. I'll be surprised if he is around in a year or two..
 
Kmag is no great comparison, he seems to be a pretty average steerer.
Palmer has looked out of his depth from day 1 and has not improved 1 iota.
I am surprised they kept him on for this year, I doubt he will get more than another couple of races.
 
Jolyon Palmer has a white sheet concerning results. Doesn't seem to have the necessary talent.
Robert Kubica is a good driver equivalent to Massa, but with some serious accidents on his records. It is a good option but a risky one for Renault. What would happen if he has another serious accident? People will say it was a bad idea bringing him on.
The solution for Renault as for Williams is Pascal Wehrlein but it is difficult to make the change before the end of the season. Button is a better option for a change in mid season even if he is not reliable either.
 
Kmag is no great comparison, he seems to be a pretty average steerer.
I am surprised they kept him on for this year, I doubt he will get more than another couple of races.

I would think he will stay on maybe to the summer break (which is not long away)...

At least he's a better driver than Lance Stroll....talk about somebody out of their depth
 
Lets be honest. The second seat at Renault was only seat warming anyway.

Palmer is only in F1 because Lotus Enstone needed daddy Palmers money and Renault for some reason honoured his contract. Then Kevin left (the correct decision imo), gifting Jolyon another unearned seat in F1.
 
As a Polish I must said - is exciting but this all is only our wish. mean time other man from Renault said " maybe we give him another chanco to test (now it is confirmed, they give) but to see RK in F1 car on track in race weekend is for now loooong road. Maybe some friday sesion after two or more test days. But in interviev for Eleven Sports PL Kubica clearly said "I'am ready and i doo everything what possible is from my side". He said too - "I don wanna to drive F1 car when I can't drive so fast like before...Now I know - I can" Also said (most important part of interviev for me) "Modern F1 car is faster in the corner, yeah, but 10 or 20km/h more for me make no difference"...Well nice to hear. but...I'm realistic - this need more time. Buissnes part is not so simply like go to car and drive.
 
Seems to happen quite a lot with drivers who look promising in lower formulas, aren't competitive in f1. Unfortunately seems that vandoorne and one or two others are struggling as much as palmer in f1.

Kubica seems unlikely, given that he had reservations about his performance in the recent testing. Very good driver though.
Failing that:
+1 Bring back the maldonado :thumbsup:
 
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I think the Kubica thing is just a PR thing, they knew he'd accept the test and it would be fun to work with an old mate for a day. The side-effect of that is that if Jolyon knew about it [which he probably did] then he might think his seat is under-pressure from Kubica.

But I don't think it will happen. I really want it to, but I don't think it will..


If it's enough to get people speculating like crazy, then it's proof that the PR angle is huge for this kind of "test" and, well... people are speculating like crazy? So PR objective is complete there.
 
Test was planned half year earlier, but only Kubica and some Renault people know that. I dont thin it's only for PR, beacouse they dont know in january how Palmer can drive and he will be good or not...
 
Test was planned half year earlier, but only Kubica and some Renault people know that. I dont thin it's only for PR, beacouse they dont know in january how Palmer can drive and he will be good or not...
The priority is for PR, guaranteed. Whether or not they have a genuine intention to put Kubica back into F1 is the matter that we won't know for sure. I still think they will use other drivers if they have to replace Jolyon
 

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