Renault supportive of Palmer's difficulties

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Renault Sport F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul "feels extremely sorry" for Jolyon Palmer following the Brit's difficult start to his 2017 campaign and the reliability issues he has endured.

Palmer has yet to score a point this season while team mate Nico Hulkenberg has enjoyed two top-ten finishes.

The 26-year-old's jumped from the frying pan into the fire at Sochi last weekend, with mechanical troubles in free practice, an overnight chassis change and a crash in qualifying for which he took responsibility before tangling with Romain Grosjean's Haas in Sunday's race.

But Abiteboul isn't holding the last two mishaps against his driver.

"I should make a special mention for Jo's team," he told Autosport.

"We had a number of issues to solve on the car, changing chassis, changing engine, the shunt in qualifying.

"I feel sorry for Jo and the group of people behind him who did a remarkable job over the weekend.

"When you change chassis and change engine you have all the reasons in the world to have problems, but we did not have a single operational problem, so I want to give a huge credit to the guys."

Abiteboul pointed to Nico Hulkenberg's positive results as reasons for Palmer to remain upbeat.

"He needs to feel that he's in a team that has the capacity to deliver this type of performance," said Abiteboul.

"This performance is not just for Nico, we are not a one-man band, and he [Palmer] has to be part of it.

"We need Jo to score points, so there is absolutely no doubt in our commitment to him."

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.