'We need to change our luck', admits Palmer

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Renault driver Jolyon Palmer is keenly aware that he needs to start showing what he can do if he's to have any hope of staying in Formula 1 beyond the end of the current season.

The 26-year-old Briton has failed to finish in the top ten so far in 2017. He's been forced to retire from three of the eight races, including the most recent in Baku.

With speculation that Renault are looking to replace him at the end of the year, Palmer knows he must start delivering results. Next weekend's race in Austria could be the opportunity he needs.

"We started on the penultimate row last year. But I managed to work my way up to twelfth, beating my team-mate," he said, recalling his first Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

"I was quite happy with the race. We just needed a little bit of extra luck and I think we could have been in the points.

"It was definitely one of my strongest races of last season.

"It is important to build on the knowledge we have and my confidence at the track and work towards a positive result.

Renault still 'completely committed' to helping Palmer

"We need to change our luck," he acknowledged. "I hope we can make it all stick heading into the final few rounds before the summer break – beginning here.

"The target is always the same; to bring home some points."

Palmer was still disappointed by how his weekend in Baku had gone. his car suffered a misfire on the way to the grid and he was forced to retire after just seven laps.

"It was a crazy race to watch!" he said. "I enjoyed watching it. But I wish I was in it!

"We will make sure we have a better one in Austria," he added. "It’s a fun circuit in an F1 car. There are some good straights and the tyre degradation is very low, so we can be flat out the whole race.

"Putting a good lap together is very important, because the lap times are very close. Any mistake can really hurt. I like that, though - the driver can make more of a difference."

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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.