'No need to panic' about British F1 drivers

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Jolyon Palmer believes there is "no need to panic" about the dwindling numbers of British drivers in F1 next year.

While Britain has produced the largest number of world champions, the departure of Jenson Button means Palmer and Lewis Hamilton will be the only two British drivers on the grid in 2017. That is the joint-lowest number for more than 30 years, but Palmer is confident there will continue to be graduates to the top level of single seater motorsport in the future.

"[There is] no need to panic about the British drivers," Palmer told the BBC. "There have always been a lot of good Brits that have been knocking on the door of F1. We've still got two, which is a reasonable amount, especially when one is in a championship-winning position.

"I'm sure we will be well represented in GP2, GP3, Formula 3 and it will be a matter of time before someone else comes in.

"There is such a heritage of British drivers and eight out of 11 teams are based in the UK, a lot of junior teams as well. So I think British motorsport is still in a good place."

While only Hamilton and Palmer are confirmed for 2017, Mercedes and Sauber each have one seat still available, while Manor is yet to confirm either of its drivers for next season.

2016 driver ratings: 12-1

2016 driver ratings: 24-13

2016 team-by-team review: Part two

2016 team-by-team review: Part one

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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.