Jolyon Palmer says 2016 will be crucial for him to impress Renault after its takeover of the Lotus team.
Having been third driver at Lotus last season, Palmer was promoted to a race seat with the team next year as Romain Grosjean departs for Haas. While the deal was done with the approval of Renault, Palmer still feels he will need to impress the new team owners during his rookier F1 season to ensure he is retained beyond 2016.
"Next for me is to be with Renault long term," Palmer said. "I think 2016 will be exciting. It won’t be the easiest year in a transition season but the long term potential is huge. I want to have a good year, show my best, and progress as a driver, and hopefully the team will keep me and we have a good car fighting for championships in the future."
Reflecting on his first year in a full-time F1 role with Lotus, Palmer admits he underestimated how much he had to learn within the team.
"The year was very good for me. I learnt a huge amount and coming from GP2 into Formula 1 there was a lot to take in, certainly more than I expected! The way the team operates is the biggest difference, there’re so many involved in Formula 1. By being at the races and driving the car a lot it made for a big learning curve and I was rewarded with the drive for next year. Job done!"
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