Jolyon Palmer has suffered a problematic sophomore season at Renault. But on Sunday things finally went right for the 26-year-old, who finished in sixth place in the Singapore Grand Prix.
"I wish this result had come earlier, but it has been a tough year," he admitted after the race. "Hopefully there are many more results like this.
"The car is only going to get better in the next few races, which gives me a lot of confidence," Palmer told Autosport magazine. "I am doing it for myself and focusing on each weekend as it comes."
Singapore is a vital result for the Briton, who now knows he won't be back with the team in 2018. The team has announced that Carlos Sainz will partner Nico Hulkenberg next year.
That leaves Palmer just six races to show his worth in order to win a race seat elsewhere on the grid.
"I have six more races to show what I can do," Palmer said. "Hopefully other people can see what I am doing.
"I am still focused on each race as it comes," he insisted. "With six races to go, whatever lies in the future, lies there.
"The pressure is on in Formula 1. I always want to do well," he said. "Even at the start of the year I wanted to stay ahead, and I needed to do good results.
"I want to do the best in each race and leave the team with my head held high at the end of the year."
Palmer's success in Singapore was the culmination of a noticeable improvement in form since the summer break.
"At Spa we should have had a good haul of points already, but there was the gearbox penalty and getting stuck in traffic," he pointed out. "Then Monza, we started at the back and didn't finish the race."
"There are a lot of 'what ifs' - in Silverstone, Baku, many, many races this year," he added. "Finally we have one where the whole weekend has gone smoothly."
And Palmer hopes that the upward trend will continue at the next event, the Malaysian Grand Prix on October 1.
"I got points in Malaysia last year, so this year I hope we can get some more," he said, batting aside persistent rumours that he might be replaced by Sainz for the race.
"It is like a broken record - yes I will in Malaysia," he stated. "And yes I will be in [season finale] Abu Dhabi [in November]."
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