SUZUKA, Japan - Renault Sport Formula One Team teammates Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen drove a measured Emirates Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on Sunday. The team opted for a one-stop tire strategy for the 53-lap race, with both Jolyon and Kevin fighting in the middle of the pack throughout and taking the checkered flag in P12 and P14 respectively. Jolyon gained four and Kevin three places from their starting positions.
- Kevin started the race from P17 with new set of Pirelli's hard compound tires. He stopped on lap 25 for a new set of medium tires.
- Jolyon started the race in P16 on new medium tires. He stopped on lap 25 for a new set of hard tires.
Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-04: Started P17, finished P14
"I started the race on hard tires against others around me on the softs and mediums; it was always going to be tough today. We can't be completely satisfied with today's race after scoring points in the last two races, but we will work hard to get back into point-scoring position in the coming races. The next round is in the USA, and it's a pretty cool track to drive so I look forward to being there next."
Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-05: Started P16, finished P12
"Tenth last week, twelfth this week, but this week everyone finished the race! We had a lot of luck last week and I think today was actually a stronger performance. We beat everyone that we could this afternoon. I'm pleased with how we went: the strategy, the pace, performance. Everything was good."
Fred Vasseur, Team Principal
"It was a good weekend for us in terms of performance, with our best Free Practice 3 to-date where we were in the top 10. Qualifying, however, was a bit disappointing. Of course Jolyon got into Q2, but I think that we could have done better overall on Saturday afternoon. Our race pace was similar again to what we had seen in FP3; we fought with Williams in terms of pace until the end of the race and we were in front of McLaren and Toro Rosso. Today's race confirmed that we have gone a step forward in pure performance, despite a tricky qualifying session on Saturday. Overall the weekend has been encouraging and both drivers did a solid job in the race with a strategy that worked well for the team."
12th place out of 22 finishers... We got the most we could today and had some good pace along the way. Good progress! #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵
— Jolyon Palmer (@JolyonPalmer) October 9, 2016
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Final thought? Thank you Japan for making us all feel so welcomed. #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/tJi8GgLFi5
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) October 9, 2016
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