The first wet evening race in Formula 1 was full of drama and Jolyon drove a solid race, capitalized on the wet conditions and safety cars to earn a valuable eight points for the team. After an incident involving cars ahead at the start of the race, driver Nico Hülkenberg swiftly avoided the drama and advanced four positions in the first lap. Fortunes didn’t favour Nico as his car had an oil leak and was force to retire for preventative measures before the end of the race.
• Nico started the race from P7 on a new set of Wet (blue) Pirelli tyres which he ran for twelve laps before switching to Intermediates (green) under the safety car. He pitted again under another safety car, this time switching to Ultrasoft (purple) tyres.
• Jolyon started the race from P11 on a set of Wet tyres, pitting after eleven laps under a safety car, switching to Intermediates which he ran for twenty-nine laps before pitting for a set of Ultrasofts.
Nico Hülkenberg, #27, R.S.17-04: Started P7, DNF.
“It was a very disappointing race, you put in a lot of hard work throughout the weekend and then these things happen. It’s not great but it is a technical sport and a team sport. Unfortunately we had some technical issues with the engine and we had to retire the car.”
Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.17-03: Started P11, finished P6.
“I’m so happy, it’s been a long time coming but today everything fell into place. It was a tricky race with the drama at the start and the heavy rain but the circumstances put us in a good place to score some points. We had a good strategy, good pit stops and the car was good in the wet conditions. The next race should be even better.”
Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director
“Tonight’s race was exciting and full of action with the rain and many safety cars - as it’s often the case in Singapore. We walk away with mixed feelings. On a positive note, Jolyon was able to get into the points for the first time this season and achieve his best result ever in F1. Despite the circumstances, he drove an error-free race on a night where it would have been easy to make many. He was able to help the team in its progress for the Constructors’ Championship, we now sit in seventh place and closer to reaching our goal for fifth position. The final races are well suited for our cars and our target remains unchanged.
On the other hand, we feel very sorry and I want to apologize to Nico for having to retire his car. We had an oil leak which translated in his car having to take a performance penalty in the earlier part of the race and even tried an intervention during a long pit stop. Despite all our attempts and a great teamwork from all his car wouldn’t have made it to the end so we retired for preventative measures.”