Palmer blames "massive" kerb for FP1 damage

Jolyon Palmer endured another luckless day in Hungary, causing two red flags throughout the two practice sessions. The Brit arrived in Hungary with the hope of starting afresh on a new sheet of canvas after a so far tough 2017 season.

However, his problems continued in Budapest as in the first practice session, Palmer rode over the kerb on the exit of Turn 4 which delivered heavy damage to his car. The front wing was ripped off and the brand new, upgraded floor also suffered injury.

Talking to Sky Sports, the irritated Renault driver said: "As you do, you run a bit wide there and suddenly, that kerb is massive. People have been running wide there for years so you don't expect it to destroy the front of the car."

When asked what had changed this year, he replied: "There is a bigger drop now to try and stop you going off and getting an advantage. It is a lot more severe than it has ever been before. I don't expect it and went in a bit hot and didn't expect it to cause that damage. It did a lot of damage."

In the second practice session, Palmer ended up in the barriers at the exit of Turn 14. The car snapped underneath him and as he tried to correct it, it spun the opposite way and was sent rearwards into the barrier.

"My car didn’t feel right from the start of FP2, and this contributed to me putting it in the wall. Looking to tomorrow, we’re going to go over the set-up with a fine tooth comb as we know there’s definitely good potential. My side of the garage has a bit of work to do so there’ll be some cold drinks waiting for them at the end of the weekend to say thanks."

Fergal Walsh