10th place and a second points finish for Magnussen and Renault
The Renault Sport F1 Team returned to the points for the second time this season, thanks to a smart run by Kevin Magnussen, who finished tenth in Singapore. Jolyon Palmer was less successful, however, suffering a slow puncture at the start and eventually finishing fifteenth under the chequered flag.
Magnussen, clearly the spearhead of Renault in 2016
The Dane perfectly took advantage of the chaos at the start, moving from 16th place to 10th place by the end of the first lap. Starting on ultra-soft tires, the former McLaren driver even climbed to 6th place for a time, delaying his first pit stop as long as possible, which he made on the 16th lap. Surprisingly, his race didn’t falter afterwards, staying within striking distance of Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso.
After putting on the super-softs for his final stint on the 38th lap, Magnussen climbed back into the right group, the top ten, after Felipe Massa’s final stop. The Renault driver held strong, bringing the seventh point of the season for the French team: « I am very happy with this result for the team as a whole! This should be a boost for everyone. It’s really a demanding season for us, we would like to score points like this at every race. »
With this performance, “K-Mag” remains the only driver to have scored points for Cyril Abiteboul’s team. On a personal level, it’s the thirteenth points finish in the Dane’s career, in a total of 35 races. A race that will certainly be remembered from the 2016 season for the driver: “We all continue to fight and a result like today shows you must always hold on and never give up. The team got the strategy right, we nailed our start, and the car’s balance was good. Driving like that and not winning; it seems strange because everything was done to perfection for me.”
Still no points for Jolyon Palmer in Formula 1
Beyond this new zero score, the 2014 GP2 Series champion is this time excused by an unfavorable scenario, after driving over debris from the start crash. Forced to change his strategy by fitting new tires earlier than planned, the 25-year-old driver reflected on his performance of the day: “It was a tough race, but we didn’t have any trouble in our way. I lost a bit of time at the start and probably picked up some debris, which also caused a slow puncture. I pitted early in the race, which meant we had a longer second stint, pushing the tires to the max.”
Another difficulty was that the progress of his race was also disrupted, notably by Pascal Wehrlein’s Manor: « “I also lost time behind the Manors. I couldn’t pass them on the track. The positive point today is that we scored points. If everything goes our way, that’s what I will aim for in Sepang.” »
Finally, Frédéric Vasseur also wanted to congratulate the performance of his frontrunner, who is back in the points after the seventh place in Sochi, achieved in May: « A solid and measured race from Kevin, with a good strategy and remarkable pit stops from our mechanics. Jolyon pushed as well despite a frustrating race with a slow puncture.
The competition director remains hopeful to continue this momentum towards the end of the championship: « We have seen with this race how much we push as a team, whether at Enstone or Viry. We will continue like this, no matter how difficult the challenge. »
Ninth in the constructors’ standings, Renault seems too far from the eighth place of Team Haas (22 points difference).
