'I was an F1 driver – I found out I was being sacked in a magazine'
Jolyon Palmer hoped to end the 2017 season with Renault but found out he was losing his seat to Carlos Sainz before the Singapore GP through an online article.
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer found out he was being axed by Renault through a magazine article. Palmer raced for the French team for one-and-a-half seasons but lost his seat in unceremonious fashion in October 2017, which he says left a “bad taste”.
The British driver, 33, has not raced since his career came to a crashing halt. Palmer had been a test driver for F1 teams Force India and Lotus before earning a permanent seat for the first time with Renault ahead of the 2016 season.
He earned a single point that year, partnering Kevin Magnussen and finishing 18th in the drivers’ standings. More disappointing results in 2017 amid car reliability issues meant the writing was on the wall for Palmer, who was aware he would be losing his seat for the 2018 season.
But, seven years later, Palmer has opened up about being dropped without being told by Renault ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix - with four races still left in the season. He recalled reading the bombshell news on Autosport that he would be replaced by Carlos Sainz Jr - 19 months after his Renault debut - without so much as an indication from team boss Cyril Abiteboul.
Palmer told the Beyond the Grid podcast: “My brother sent me a message and was like ‘oh, have you seen this’, and it was Autosport - ‘Sainz to replace Palmer’. I was like, ‘what?!’ Genuinely, that was the first I’d heard of it. I was at home and I clicked on it. I was really reading my own downfall on Autosport.”
Asked if there was any indication beforehand, he added: “I’m not an idiot, I knew I wasn’t going to be staying at the end of the year. The season wasn’t going well. I didn’t know if I’d finish the season, I’d hoped I would. I actually had a great run in Spa when I was faster than [2017 team-mate Nico] Hulkenberg.
“I just didn’t expect to read about my own demise. I thought someone from the team was going to see [the news] and reach out, but no one did. I came out to Singapore in the press conference on Thursday and our head of media was like, ‘are you good to go up?’ I told him ‘No! There is no way I could face the world’s media before someone tells me what is conclusively happening here’.
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“I was waiting, there was no sign of Cyril, no sign of management. I was thinking let’s have a sit down and at least tell me to my face what’s going on. Eventually, Cyril came over and told me, but the whole year was handled in a pretty bad way.”
Upon reading the news, Palmer managed a career-best finish of sixth in Singapore. His final race came in Suzuka at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Sainz – now 30 and with Ferrari – stepping in for the following race in Austin, Texas.
“I don’t know why [he hadn’t spoken to me beforehand]," Palmer said. "The Autosport story probably came before Renault were ready, but you’d think I’d hear from my boss to tell me whether it was true or not. I had to force the conversation so it left a bad taste.”
Palmer said the poor handling of the situation may have been down to the hushed up nature of deals in F1 and not making announcements until things have been finalised. Now working for F1 TV, BBC Sport and Channel 4 as a pundit, Palmer admitted that he was also somewhat relieved that his difficult time in F1 was coming to an end.
