Jolyon Palmer is ready for Formula 1 race debut - Pastor Maldonado
Jolyon Palmer is ready to make the step up to a Formula 1 race seat after spending a year as Lotus's reserve driver, according to his new team-mate Pastor Maldonado
Jolyon Palmer is ready to make the step up to a Formula 1 race seat after spending a year as Lotus's reserve driver, according to his new team-mate Pastor Maldonado.
The 2014 GP2 champion took part in first practice at 13 of the 19 grands prix in 2015 and will replace Romain Grosjean, who leaves Lotus to join the American outfit Haas.
Renault confirmed earlier this month that it will make Lotus its works team next season, bringing to an end months of speculation.
While Maldonado is unsure how much running in first practice will actually help Palmer, because the conditions are so unrepresentative, he's sure Palmer will be strong.
"It's always difficult because he has been running this year on most of the Fridays but always with the harder compounds on a very green track and that is the worst moment of the weekend," Maldonado told Autosport.
"He's a good driver, he's very intelligent and I wish him the best.
"I think he is ready. I hope he pushes hard with me to put the team in a good place.
"Spending the year with Lotus, it will help him from one side because he knows everyone, he knows how we work.
"Of course he is not experienced racing in Formula 1, he is not experienced having time to set up the car but that will come.
"If you are clever and do your job with the guys, this will come automatically.
"He needs some time to adapt himself to the races, too."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
F1 testing: Max Verstappen feels 'big difference' in 2018 Red Bull
Williams F1's Oliver Rowland to test Super Formula car at Suzuka
Why F1's under-fire rookie is already causing surprises
F1 driver mid-season swaps - Schumacher, De Vries, Verstappen and more
Nico Hulkenberg says he did not 'slack' alongside Jolyon Palmer in F1
How Palmer impressed McLaren
Leclerc at a loss to explain Azerbaijan GP qualifying record
The F1 safety system calls behind Norris’s Azerbaijan qualifying exit
Verstappen rues bouncing Red Bull that derailed Azerbaijan qualifying
Colapinto: Azerbaijan Q3 result “a dream come true”
F1 uncovered: A weekend behind the scenes with a team physio
Jon Noble: Why Newey’s myth-busting correction is bad news for Aston Martin’s rivals
How Newey will link Alonso, Honda, and Aston Martin's engineers together for a 2026 title tilt
Ayrton Senna's magic moments, chosen by his race engineers
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
