A frustrating but enjoyable race for Magnussen, Palmer grumbles
Kevin Magnussen made a fine comeback from eighteenth place thanks to a strategy that was transformed from one to three stops during the U.S. Grand Prix. Eleventh on the track, he ended the race in twelfth place, due to a last-minute penalty. Jolyon Palmer finished thirteenth after opting for a two-stop strategy.
Starting only in eighteenth position, Kevin Magnussen changed his strategy mid-race: the unpredictable nature of live racing saw him go from the planned single stop to three actual stops. From an aggressive strategy, the Renault pit wall decided to change tactics by having him shed his starting soft tires earlier than planned. This choice turned out to be almost wise. Battling at the edge of the points, he finished eleventh on the track, then twelfth after a penalty was applied for an illegal overtake on Daniil Kvyat.
« We started thinking we would only make one stop » indicated afterwards the former McLaren driver.
But we quickly realized it would not be the best option; so we switched to a strategy of two, then three stops. Tire wear was greater than expected. But my strategy still allowed me to have fun at the end of the race when the car was on super-soft tires.
However, with the mediums during the second part of the Grand Prix, the Dane attacked aggressively hoping for a decent position, overtaking his teammate and then Daniil Kvyat later in the race. It was thus a race that gave a lot of pleasure to the driver of the Losange brand, but it will still leave a bitter taste due to this penalty.
« I have never enjoyed driving so much this season: I was able to attack from start to finish. This result is decent considering our qualifying performance. The penalty is frustrating, but that’s sometimes part of racing. »
It’s post-race Monday, which mean it’s time for our #USGP #flipagram!
🎶 Shake It Off @taylorswift13 (had to be!) pic.twitter.com/GBAtROyvpI— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) 24 octobre 2016
On his side, Jolyon Palmer started fifteenth on the grid with a set of soft tires. After a successful qualifying session and making it to Q2, he finished the race in thirteenth position after unexpectedly opting for a two-stop strategy as well. Indeed, to top it all off, after a sluggish start, Palmer was stuck behind his teammate for a long time! He didn’t appreciate it at all and made sure to voice his frustration over the radio.
I didn’t get off to a good start, and unfortunately, it cost me a few places. Kevin took advantage of it to pass, and I found myself in his gearbox for two-thirds of the race.
The Briton was able to take advantage of retirements ahead to gain several places, but unfortunately for him, it was impossible to overtake in his Renault. « We were really struggling to stay in the wake of other cars. Even if I was faster, I couldn’t get close enough to overtake, and it was very frustrating! I could have tried a bold maneuver, but it’s never very smart to do that between teammates. »
The driver of the Renault No. 30 chose to make two pit stops on the fifteenth and twenty-eighth laps of the race to switch successively to soft and medium tires.
« In the end, I overheated my tires trying to overtake, and that forced me to hold back. »
The 2014 GP2 champion has repeatedly shown a certain bad mood on the radio by responding rather curtly to his engineer. Was he furious at the lack of team orders from Frédéric Vasseur?
When journalists asked him if he begged his radio to let him pass Magnussen, Palmer replied the following: « Yes, obviously. To get a good result, we need good pace, good strategy. Of course, I don’t want team orders. But I spent 30 laps stuck behind him. I knew I was faster. »
Thus, this restlessness is telling. The shortcut may be considered easy, but is it symptomatic of his current situation? Let’s remember that with the arrival of Nico Hülkenberg, there is now only one free seat left for 2017. A seat that will in all likelihood slip away from him: the two “finalists” for this place are Kevin Magnussen… and Esteban Ocon, Renault’s protégé.
The tension is therefore likely to escalate between Palmer and Magnussen for the last three races of the season…
In short, it’s a mixed result for Renault, which had the merit of quickly adapting to the race conditions. But even though the challenge was significant, the stated goal was points for the Franco-English brand, which remains stuck in ninth place in the constructors’ standings (only eight points).
