Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsLotus F1

Palmer encouraged by FP1 progress

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Jolyon Palmer says he has been encouraged by the progress he made from his first FP1 appearance after another run-out in Bahrain last week.

The 2014 GP2 champion made his Friday practice debut for Lotus in China on a circuit he had never driven at, with Palmer spinning early on as he got to grips with the car. Having been 0.6s slower than team-mate Pastor Maldonado at Shanghai, Palmer cut that gap to 0.4s in Bahrain a week later.

Asked how he feels looking back on his opening to FP1 appearances, Palmer replied: "Very good!

"It’s great to get on track with all the other F1 drivers and to be part of a Grand Prix weekend finally! China was a really good experience as I had so much to learn: the procedures, the track – as China was a new track for me, etc. Shanghai was all about learning as much as possible.

"Then Bahrain was a good opportunity just a week after my first FP1 outing. It’s a circuit that I was already familiar with and where it overall went better. My pace was more competitive, I made no mistake; it was more straightforward."

Reflecting on his spin in China, Palmer admits he feared he had already ended his session.

"I thought ‘Oh s**t!’ I held it together but my heart sank as I went around. I pushed too hard too soon… I couldn’t believe it when I was sliding sideways across the track hoping that I wouldn’t hit anything and luckily I didn’t, and I kept it out of the gravel! I then cleared my head and was ready to get back to my normal session."

Click here for a more light-hearted look at the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.