It was a very luckless home grand Prix for Renault driver Jolyon Palmer in the British Grand Prix ten days ago, the young Brit not getting the chance to shine in front of the tens of thousands of British fans who had hoped to witness their local hero score points for the French based squad.
However, he has put that disappointment behind him and has extra grit to seek a change of fortune on a technical Budapest circuit this coming weekend, the final race of the first half of the season before the teams and drivers take a well-earned rest.
What are your thoughts on the Hungaroring?
I really like Budapest, it brings up some good memories such as when I won there in the GP2 Series in 2013. The track is different in nature to many others in terms of having a lot of slow speed corners. Once you brake for the first turn you don't get much of a breather until you're back round again and on to the straight.
The entire circuit flows together and makes for an exciting lap, there is little room for error in terms of braking and turning points, everything has to go smoothly. It's difficult to overtake there and it's important to find a good rhythm. It's fun to drive a lap, it's usually good for racing, so hopefully I can have a change of luck and finally get some points.
How are you going to find that change of luck?
I have burnt the unlucky underpants, so they are now out of the way! I'm not superstitious, but you have to say this run of bad luck has to end.
What were the positives from Silverstone?
The big negative was obviously not being able to start the race. That was unbelievably frustrating, especially as it was my home Grand Prix and I had a lot of support. I couldn't believe it. But, on the positives, there were certainly a couple of good things from Silverstone. My qualifying pace was decent and I managed my second best run of the season. I drove with the new floor in FP1 and it was working nicely, meaning I'm happy to have it for Budapest. Nico showed the benefit of the floor across last weekend with his strong qualifying and race pace. It's exciting for the team as we looked competitive and ahead of our midfield rivals. That's all I hope for in Hungary.
