F1: Palmer Retained by Renault as Haas Look to Snag Magnussen

[Chris]

The Formula One game of 'Musical Chairs 2017' looks set to have two more bottoms fall on seats for the 2017 season.

Renault have confirmed that Jolyon Palmer will race for the Enstone outfit in 2017 alongside Nico Hulkenberg. This confirmation comes after months of speculation regarding the Renault 2017 lineup, and now that Hulkenberg has officially confirmed his move from Sahara Force India, the wheels have been set in motion and what's left of the grid will slot into place.

Said Jolyon of his retention, "For me, it’s been a steep learning curve driving in Formula One and I know that I am performing better than ever, and that there’s still more to come. There is tremendous drive and enthusiasm in Enstone and Viry looking to next year and I am honoured to be part of this."

Despite being a GP2 champion, many have been left wondering how Renault could even be considering Palmer for 2017 after a spate of errors and generally being a tenth or two slower than his Danish teammate who is not considered exceptional by any means. However, Renault recognise that Palmer is a rookie and has shown a highly committed work ethic to improve his race craft at every race. Not only that but he's an attractive prospect for sponsorship and media commitments in a similar fashion to the Jenson Button/McLaren relationship with regards to off-track commitments.

Now that both Renault seats have been taken, where does this leave Kevin Magnussen? Well, reports are coming through that Haas F1 are looking to replace Esteban Gutierrez after yet another lackluster season of relative mediocrity, with the Dane. Renault were looking for a driver who could lead the team into the future, and they now have that in Nico Hulkenberg, but prior to signing the German, the team were struggling to build a case for Magnussen to lead them as his somewhat lackadaisical attitude to Formula One appeared to convey a lack of motivation at times. His performances this season have generally been better than Palmer's, however he appears to lack the same work ethic that his younger Briton teammate is keen to demonstrate on a weekly basis.

What do you think of Renault re-signing Palmer? Is Haas barking up the wrong tree with K-Mag?

Image courtesy of FIA.com​

 

[Christian Moreau]

Ooofff, really? The man has not looked good, but hey, he gets to drive for another year so I'm sure he's happy. Meanwhile, unless Renault manages a miracle in the off-season, Nico is going to have a hard time next year getting anywhere with this car.

 

[Nick Milton]

He seems to have improved over the season.

 

[Allan Ramsbottom]

How much did that cost daddy!!!

 

[Leonardo Chaves]

They probably signed him to a 1 year contract so they can have another go at Bottas/Sainz next year.

Force India seat remains the interesting one.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

First Driver []
Second Driver []
Nico Hulkenburgs whipping boy [X]

What a ****ing awful move, not only for Renault but for his career. He's going to get a huge ass kicking now there's an extremely good driver in that car. He's not going to challenge Hulkenburg at all. He's done nothing to show he deserved a second chance, much like Kvyat.

 

[Chris]

How much did that cost daddy!!!

Might need to think about liquidating Brands Hatch, Cadwell and Outlon soon... LOL

 

[fortyfivekev]

Might need to think about liquidating Brands Hatch, Cadwell and Outlon soon... LOL

Daddy is currently trying to buy Silverstone as well so must be busy and it would be good if he was successful.

In the age of no testing you probably need to give people more time to shine. If he doesn't get near the Hulk next season then by all means drop him. It's KMag and Kyvat who have had their chance and should be out the door.

 

[vee10]

In F1 the headline results do not give you the true insight to how a driver is performing over the course of a season. This is Palmer's rookie season in a 2014/15 car that was off the pace even in those years with a engine not designed for the chassis. Renault have no need for a pay driver, Magnussen wanted a two year deal which is fair enough and Palmer has signed a one year deal which give Renault a option for 2018 when they should be regular top 10 finishers.

In Quali it is 12-7 in Magnussen's favour which to me suggests Palmer has done remarkably well. You can't always judge a driver until you know the facts as many top line drivers have struggled when the car does not suit their style, the RS 16 obviously does not suit anyone!

The true test will be up against the Hulk in a proper Renault chassis with a new engine only then can you judge Palmer and I for one am glad to see a seemingly decent British chap not just discarded on F1's scrap heap of drivers.

 

[mibrandt]

Kmag has had his chance and imo he has taken it. He has beaten his teammate 7-1 in points and 12-8 in quali. I No one really knows how good or bad Palmer is in F1 because Kevin and him have had terrible cars this year.

But considering that Palmer had to beat Mclaren driver 2017 Stoffel Vandorne and Felipe Nasr to become World Champion in GP2 in 2014 I cant believe he is total rubbish.

Tbh I think they both did good jobs with the car they had - so happy to see them both get a chance next year. Next year we will have a real chance to compare them better against established drivers Grosjain and Hulkenberg. I think they both will surprise in a good way.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Well I am slightly surprised he's been kept by the team but 2017 could be completely different for him with the new regulations and it's good for a large company like Renault to allow a driver to develop rather than kicking him out after one year. We'll see how 2017 goes.

As @fortyfivekev mentions in an age of no testing it can be super tough for new drivers to show what they are worth.

Neither driver has really shone in the Renault this year. The package hasn't really worked. The engine is getting there but the car looks a bit evil from the onboards.

 

[monsieurjackb]

I'm glad Palmer's being given another chance. I got excited watching him race in Australia, his calmness and car control for a first race was really impressive...admittedly as the season progressed that tremendous car control probably came from his car going a lot slower than the other 21 on track plus it disappeared as the season progressed anyway

That being said, you don't become GP2 champion for no reason. The guys got talent, there's no doubt about it. Hopefully an extra year will give him the chance to show that talent in F1

Besides, Max Chilton got 2 seasons in F1
​

 

[Lorenzo Bonder]

Well Nasr won't be racing in F1 next year.

Props for Palmer and grats to Magnussen, but I never even passed the thought of not seeing a year without Brazilians in F1.

Well and so then life goes on.

Sette Câmara and Matheus Leist, you better step up now.

 

[Matthew Booth]

Appears your wrong there seems like Ericcson & Nasr both retained at Sauber with Esteban Ocon joining Force India on a multi-year deal.

 

[gamer19]

I'm glad he got another chance, there's enough of examples of driver drop outs after not even full year. Everyone needs different time to adapt.
Btw, that's Kevin's helmet, Jolyon is much prettier.

What a nice picture. His daddy appear here by pure accident. Or not.
Either way... thanks for the info, for those (if there's any) who didn't know it but, personally, this one is much more interesting:

Perez dumps sponsor via Twitter in Trump row

Sergio Perez has tweeted that he will ditch sunglasses brand Hawkers as a sponsor after a controversial comment it made regarding Donald Trump.

The Mexican F1 star took exception to a tweet from the official Hawkers account, intended to be light-hearted, which suggested that Mexican citizens could use its glasses to not show their ‘crying eyes tomorrow when you are building the wall’.
In the wake of Trump’s controversial comments regarding the US/Mexican border and his shock win in the US election, Perez wasted little time responding to the tweet, claiming he will end his relationship with Hawkers.
“Really bad comment,” he tweeted. “Today I am breaking my relationship with @HawkersMX. I will never let anyone make fun of my country.”
The relationship between Perez and Hawkers is only weeks old, the brand having released it’s Perez-edition glasses on November 2 for a price of 725 Mexican pesos (approximately US$39).

And... there's this one, too:

Motor racing-Ocon joins Force India F1 team

French driver Esteban Ocon will race for Force India next season after agreeing a multi-year deal, the Silverstone-based Formula One team said in a statement at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Thursday.
Ocon replaces experienced German Nico Hulkenberg, who is moving to Renault, alongside Mexican Sergio Perez at a team co-owned by Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya and currently fourth in the championship.
The 20-year-old is contracted long-term to Mercedes, Force India's engine provider, and made his debut this year with the lowly Manor team as a mid-season replacement for Indonesian Rio Haryanto.
"I'm still relatively new to Formula One, but spending half a season at Manor Racing has given me some valuable experience and I feel ready for this new opportunity with Sahara Force India," he said.

 

[Stig Bidstrup]

How much did that cost daddy!!!

I was thinking the same while reading the article.
Its well known in Denmark that Kevin Magnussen wont pay anybody for racing ( the talent is to big ) that is what they call lack of motivation in other countries he's father never payed anybody for racing either.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

Sette Câmara and Matheus Leist, you better step up now.

Sette Camara is quite frankly ****. Worse than Nasr. Waste of space on the Red Bull young drivers program. Matheus looks to be a good driver on the other hand, but I think we need him to compete on a higher level before passing judgement

 

[Lorenzo Bonder]

Sette Camara is quite frankly ****. Worse than Nasr. Waste of space on the Red Bull young drivers program. Matheus looks to be a good driver on the other hand, but I think we need him to compete on a higher level before passing judgement

Dude, chill jeez. Calling someone a crap driver without even having driven a F1 car before, even worse a F1 driver, which I highly disagree (once again) on that claim of Nasr being a bad driver, is a little bit extreme don't you think.

The last message is a note on the less prestigied driving prospects we have in Brazil. Since I don't put neither Pedro Piquet or Pietro in F1 nowhere in a thousand years.

And my whole point is the fact that after nearly 50 years of F1, we might have the first drought of Brazilians drivers in F1. And that sucks. And if you think Brazil is not a big deal in F1, ask Bernie and the number of titles we have in F1, we only lose to the GB and Germany in titles per nation.

 

[Ole Andreasen]

Well - being Danish I am subjective in this matter...
I wish Big Mag best of luck at Haas... I don´t really understand why Renault didn´t choose Magnussen - but hey that Formula one for you - and yes Kevin does not have a shitload of money to throw after a team, all he has - is his driving... I look forward to seeing Kevin next year.

 

[ThatRacingGuy]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,

This might be even worse then the whole Trump thing,

I love the Hulk and hate Damm Joylon, he's like Vettel 2.0, Bad loser, language problems, only thing that sperarates Vettel from Palmer is that Vettel can actually drive.