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Palmer feels Renault should have used team orders in Austin

Jolyon Palmer admitted he was left frustrated that his Renault team did not use team orders to get teammate Kevin Magnussen to give up his position in the United States Grand Prix.

Kevin Magnussen, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16 leads team mate Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16

Kevin Magnussen, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16 leads team mate Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16

XPB Images

Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16
Kevin Magnussen, Renault Sport F1 Team RE16 pit stop
Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RE16 pit stop
Kevin Magnussen, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16
Kevin Magnussen, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16 leads team mate Jolyon Palmer, Renault Sport F1 Team RS16
Kevin Magnussen, Renault Sport F1 Team RE16 pit stop

Palmer was on a two-stop strategy while Magnussen opted for three stops, and it meant the Briton got stuck behind the Dane for several laps while he was faster than his teammate.

In the end, Palmer got ahead when Magnussen pitted, only for the Dane to pass him again thanks to his newer tyres.

Palmer believes the time he lost behind Magnussen probably cost Renault a better result.

"Basically for us to get a result we need to be in a really good position, we need a really good strategy," said Palmer, who finished 13th.

"Of course I don't want that to be the case, I want to be able to pass.

"But I spent, I don't know, 30 laps tucked up right behind him. I knew I was a lot quicker, and I could see that with the guys in front we could really make some inroads. But I couldn't follow him close enough.

"I feel like if I got in front, I could have moved on and caught some of the guys ahead. But I was stuck behind.

"As much as the strategy and I would have liked to have been let past. I started ahead anyway. We need to look at the whole race."

Palmer, whose future at the team remains uncertain, said there were time when he could have tried to pass Magnussen, but did not want to cause an accident.

"I mean, a couple of times I could have had a lunge, but I think it's quite silly to do that, especially to try and get ahead," he added.

"And in the end I overheated my tyres trying to pass him and fell back a little bit. He did an extra stop and came through at the end, it's a bit frustrating.

"I was asking them, it's a frustrating situation when you're stuck behind your teammate because you don't want to try and do something stupid."

 

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Edition

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