Palmer wanted team orders from Renault

40

Jolyon Palmer believes Renault should have dispatched a team order over the radio to Kevin Magnussen, asking the Dane to let his team mate past.

As a result of similar tyre strategies, Palmer spent over half the race right on the back of Magnussen, and was hoping the Renault pit-wall would help his cause at some point.

"Well yeah, basically, I want to be able to pass, but I spent, I don't know, 30 laps tucked up right behind him," Palmer said.

"I knew I was a lot quicker, and I could see that [with] the guys in front I could really make some inroads.

"But I couldn't follow him [Magnussen] close enough, I felt that if I got in front I could have really moved on and caught some of the guys ahead but I was stuck behind.

"I was asking them [Renault] but it's a frustrating situation to be stuck behind your team-mate because you don't want to do something stupid and it was difficult to get to close."

In the end, Magnussen decided on a late stop to take on SuperSoft tyres, passed his team mate and crossed the line eleventh, with Palmer finishing 13th.

Ultimately, the Dane was demoted to 12th after receiving a post-race five-second penalty for an overtaking move on Daniil Kvyat.

The rivalry between Palmer and Magnussen is obviously fueled by both driver's motivation to secure the final seat at Renault for 2017 as the French manufacturer still hasn't decided who should partner new recruit Nico Hulkenberg.

"I was pushing hard to do the best I can, 13th is not a disaster but it could have been better," Palmer concluded, admitting his problems probably stemmed from a slow start to his race.

"We need to look at the start, my opening couple of laps weren't very strong. As much as the strategy [affected the race] and I would have liked to have been let past, I started ahead, so we need to look at the whole race."

DRIVER RATINGS: United States Grand Prix

2017 driver line-ups so far

Silbermann says ... Taylor should take over F1

Romain Grosjean column: 100 races, now for the wins

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

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.