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Palmer feeling more comfortable, confident in 2017

It was a steep learning curve for Jolyon Palmer in his first season in Formula 1 in 2016. But having survived the experience and retained his Renault seat for a second year, Palmer is optimistic there are better things to come.

"I’m really confident that it will be a much better season," said the 26-year-old. "I haven’t got a lot of doubt about it."

"I feel like it’s completely different sat here now," he told Reuters.

"[2016] started quite difficult and I had to regroup," he explained. "I honestly think you learn more in the difficult times. And really, last year there were times where I had to pull myself together."

Palmer - who won the GP2 Series title in 2014 - believes that having gone through the tough experience last year will prove beneficial.

"Having come through that, now I’m sat here with that experience which a lot of drivers don’t have," he said.

"I’ve come through that and now hopefully we are going to have a much stronger year. I know I can dig deep and when the pressure’s on, shine through."

Video: Jolyon Palmer on his first week driving the R.S.17

Palmer will have a new team mate this year with Nico Hulkenberg joining Renault. He's hopeful that Hulkenberg's experience at Force India and Williams will help propel the team forward.

"Last year was Renault’s first year back, no-one knew really what to expect, the pressure was big on both drivers.

"This year everything just feels a bit more comfortable," he added. "I feel like hopefully we’re set up for the future as a team now."

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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.