After months of speculation about their 2017 driver line up, the Renault Formula One Team has confirmed that they will be retaining British rookie, Jolyon Palmer for the upcoming 2017 championship season.
According to Jerome Stroll, the team's chairman, the reason behind picking Jolyon over his current teammate, Kevin Magnussen, comes down to the raw hunger he has displayed this season as well as his increasingly stronger race performances.
Twenty-five year old Jolyon joined Renault Sport Formula One Team's predecessor Lotus F1 Team as Third Driver at the start of the 2015 season, graduating to race driver for 2016 with Renault Sport Formula One Team. To date he has started 18 Grands Prix, scoring his first World Championship point at this year's Malaysian Grand Prix. He is the 2014 GP2 Series Champion.
“I'm over the moon to be racing with Renault Sport Formula One Team for a second season and I can't wait to reward the team's faith in me on track,” the young rookie said. “Having worked out of Enstone since 2015 I can fully appreciate the development of the infrastructure this year."
"This means I share the excitement of the team looking to 2017 and our new car. For me, it's been a steep learning curve driving in Formula 1 and I know that I am performing better than ever, and that there's still more to come. There is tremendous drive and enthusiasm in Enstone and Viry looking to next year and I am honoured to be part of this.”
Jolyon will join the newly announced Nico Hulkenberg for the 2017 and at this stage it is not sure where Kevin Magnussen will end up. The Dane did admit however, that he actually turned down an offer from the team that came just prior to the Mexican grand prix because it was not good enough.
