Jolyon Palmer receives five-place grid penalty for Belgian GP

Palmer made it into Q3 for only the second time this season on Saturday, but stopped on track before he even started a flying lap with a reported loss of gearbox oil pressure.

He had set two times in the second part of qualifying that would have been good enough for seventh on the grid ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, and said his qualifying was "perfect" until the problem.

Speaking after the session the British driver said he knew there was a "reasonable chance" of a penalty, but said he could "shake off" any lingering doubts about reliability for the race.

"It would have been a lot harder if the reliability had come at the start of qualifying and we couldn't show what we were capable of," he said.

"We're starting a bit out of place even if we're 10th, and if we're further back we've got even more cars that we're quicker than ahead.

"It changes the race, but in terms of the pace and mentality and confidence, it's still there."

The five-place grid penalty drops Palmer to 14th behind Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Palmer described his weekend so far as his most emphatic performance in F1 to date, as he regularly outpaced team-mate Hulkenberg for the first time in 2017.

"I had a really good feeling in the car from FP1," said Palmer.

"We haven't had to make any big changes, just a weekend of small tweaks and fine-tuning.

"I think today [Saturday] every single lap has been quick - it's not just trying to pull one lap out, it's every single one, and no mistakes."

While Palmer was confident, prior to his penalty being confirmed, of having the pace to score points, team-mate Hulkenberg predicted a "tough" race.

The German has struggled this weekend and said he was "very happy" to salvage seventh on the grid in the circumstances.

"It was a bit of a struggle all weekend long, especially on my side of the garage we've done the set-up upside down, left, right, upside down again and again," he explained.

"In quali I didn't feel that good in the car to be honest I'm a bit suspicious there's an issue going on with the aero.

"I couldn't really find the sweet spot, the set-up that I felt happy and the harmony I felt in Budapest.

"Yesterday was more the front end, today is more the rear end. It's been inconsistent so it's difficult to always target the right things.

"With how I felt in the car it's not the best situation to go into a race."

Starting grid