Jolyon Palmer turned in the miles for Renault Sport F1 Team on Thursday (3 March) during the second week of pre-season testing in Barcelona, tallying almost 100 laps.

After technical gremlins disrupted his first couple of days in the car last month, Jolyon returned to the cockpit to take over testing duties from team-mate Kevin Magnussen. Eager to benefit from as much track time as possible, the young British F1 rookie was the first driver to head onto the circuit when the green flag dropped.

Gearboxl issues limited running during the morning, but the afternoon was far more productive, as Jolyon quickly made up for lost time in the French outfit’s R.S.16 and undertook a full race simulation. When the chequered flag flew to signal the conclusion of the day’s proceedings, the 25-year-old Southwater racer had put 98 laps on the board.

A late flying effort of 1:26.224 moved him above defending F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton into tenth spot on the timesheets.

Jolyon said: "Overall it was a good day, almost 100 laps and a full race distance this afternoon. Gearbox problems this morning meant we lost a bit of time which was a shame, but still it's important to get that first race distance under my belt, and we still have a full day tomorrow to learn some more."

The 2014 GP2 Champion will remain in the R.S.16 for the final day of pre-season testing in Barcelona on Friday (4 March).

Pos	Driver	Team	Times	Laps
1	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:22.765	136
2	F. Massa	Williams	1:23.193	119
3	N. Hülkenberg	Force India	1:23.251	137
4	M. Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:23.382	159
5	N. Rosberg	Mercedes	1:24.126	81
6	F. Nasr	Sauber	1:24.760	116
7	F. Alonso	McLaren	1:24.870	118
8	P. Wehrlein	Manor	1:24.913	48
9	D. Kvyat	Red Bull	1:25.141	121
10	J. Palmer	Renault	1:26.224	98
11	L. Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.488	63
12	R. Grosjean	Haas	1:27.196	78