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2017 performance 'not fantastic' so far - Palmer

Jolyon Palmer has called his start to the 2017 Formula 1 season "not fantastic" after failing to score any points in the opening four rounds of the year.

Palmer entered 2017 looking to improve on a tough rookie year in F1 that saw him score just a single point with Renault, but has only finished as high as 13th so far this year.

The Briton retired from the Russian Grand Prix last weekend after clashing with Romain Grosjean at Turn 1, spurning his chances of breakthrough points in 2017.

Palmer offered an honest assessment of his season so far, admitting that there has been a combination of errors both on his side and with the car.

"Not fantastic!" Palmer said when asked to assess his performance this year. "It has been very difficult and I will be the first to admit my performance hasn't been what I wanted it to be.

"But there have been a lot of issues, every weekend there are new issues. I have made mistakes as well that have put us on the back foot, so these I need to cut out. I am generally a bit behind on track time and behind on getting the car into a good window and being confident with set up and direction.

"Once we get these things sorted, these things will be there. If we have clean Friday and Saturday morning then I think we can start to look at more seriously what is happening on my side.

"But every time we turn up to Saturday we are on the back foot to start qualifying, or in China we were in a good position and I got caught out by the yellow flags."

Palmer has taken the brunt of Renault's problems so far this season, with team-mate Nico Hulkenberg enjoying a relatively trouble-free start to the year, allowing him to score points in Bahrain and Russia.

"It is just the way it has been," Palmer said. "The one time there was a problem on his car he wasn't even driving it! That is how it goes. I am sure the luck will turn and like I said last year it was tough times and I dug in and finished the year with a very good second half.

"We are not even a quarter through the year so there are plenty of races to turn it around." 

Zdroj: crash.net