Palmer optimistic of pulling off Shanghai surprise

Jolyon Palmer is hoping that the third time will prove the charm, and that Shanghai will enable him to break into the top ten at last and score points for Renault in the process.

Palmer finished just one place short in his maiden Formula One appearance in Australia, and then suffered a hydraulic pump failure before he could take the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix. But with the teething problems behind him, Palmer believes that China will be a different story altogether.

"We should have it all addressed for China," he said. "The car has a well-balanced baseline and all we need is a little bit more performance. This is exactly what we have coming in the future, so every thing’s good.

Although this will be his first race at the Shanghai International Circuit, Palmer does already have some experience of the Hermann Tilke-designed 3.388-mile, 16-turn circuit thanks his time spent as Lotus test and development driver in 2015.

"I drove it last year in FP1 so I have a reasonable idea about the track," he said. "You can get pretty low temperatures there so there’s the challenge of long corners too, which means front tyre graining. It’s almost the exact opposite of Bahrain, which is rear limited.

"There are some very technical corners, like turn one that is pretty unique as it goes pretty much back on itself, on to the back straight, which is another long corner that induces graining on the front left.

"The straight is very long and there’s DRS so in the race you’ll be looking to be as close as possible to the car ahead to slipstream and make a move, then you’re considering your braking point.

"It’s one of the longest straights on the calendar and it’s right at the end of the lap," he added. "You really need to maximise the potential; you can’t afford to mess it up.

"The middle sector is more about high speed corners where it’s not so easy to follow the car ahead but the corner itself provides the challenge. There’ll always be the element of looking after the tyres in Shanghai."

Sergio Perez exclusive interview: Time to be a driving force

Eric Silbermann ponders the outcome of the qualifying format row

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS - Bahrain Grand Prix

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter