Jolyon Palmer forecasts an exciting and action-packed Chinese Grand Prix this weekend (16/17 April), as he bids to battle back from the disappointment of a Bahrain Grand Prix that was over before it had even begun. 

Following an eye-catching Formula 1 debut in Australia last month – narrowly missing out on a points-scoring finish – Palmer was keen to make further progress in Bahrain only for a hydraulic issue to ground his Renault Sport Formula One Team R.S.16 at the end of the formation lap in Sakhir.

“I was pretty gutted,” acknowledged the young British F1 rookie. “You complete the entire race weekend, all the practice sessions, qualifying, all the debriefs and all that work for a race and to miss even the race start – when there’s the most adrenaline of the weekend, and the part you most look forward to – is really frustrating.

“The thing about a Grand Prix is that there’s only one race at the weekend – whereas in every other series I’ve contested there is more than one – so if you have a problem, that’s it; game over. 

“We knew our race pace was going to be better than our qualifying pace so I was looking forward to moving up the order, just like we saw Kevin [Magnussen – team-mate] do. I think we should have both been able to have a good crack at the top ten, so to be packing up before the lights had gone off was disappointing for all of us.”

Now, however, Palmer is firmly focused on his next challenge – that posed by the Shanghai International Circuit, which he approaches with prior knowledge having participated in the first free practice session last year. The 25-year-old Southwater racer is confident of enjoying a stronger weekend.

“There are two sides to the track,” he explained. “You’ve got the really long straight with heavy braking at the end, then there’s the double DRS zone into Turn One so you’ll be looking to be as close as possible to the car ahead to slipstream and make a move in the race. That’s a pretty unique corner as it effectively goes back on itself.

“The middle sector is more about high-speed corners where it’s not so easy to follow the car ahead, but the corner itself provides the challenge. There will always be an element of looking after the tyres in Shanghai.

“The R.S.16 has a well-balanced baseline and all we need is a little bit more performance. That is exactly what we have coming in the future, so everything’s good. The feeling within the team is great!”

Palmer will first take to the track in Shanghai at 10am local time (4am GMT) on Friday morning for FP1.