Palmer: Renault still in very good hands

Despite Renault losing team boss Frederic Vasseur over the winter, Jolyon Palmer believes the team remains in “very good hands” with Cyril Abiteboul and Jerome Stroll.

Last season Renault managed just eight World Championship points in 21 grands prix, the end result being the departure of Vasseur.

After just one season as team boss of the Enstone outfit, the Frenchman and Renault agreed to part company by mutual consent.

There remains, however, stability at the very top as Abiteboul is still the managing director and Stroll stays on as president.

“Fred left, which was a shame, but we’ve still got Cyril [Abiteboul], Jerome Stroll as well, so these guys have run Formula 1 teams and been very senior in Renault,” Palmer told Sky Sports News HQ.

“So we’re still in very good hands and in a way things are maybe a little bit simpler now.

“The feeling in the team is this is a year where we can actually do something. Last year we had our hands tied a little bit from the problems with Lotus, this year it’s a proper Renault stamp on everything.

“We’ve still got some great people in the team, people who have won races and even won championships with Renault before, so everyone is super excited to get going and see if we can get back towards that.”

The Brit is hoping for a better second season at Renault, confident that the team is “going places.”

He added: “I’m with a manufacturer team, a team that I believe is going places, and even if I didn’t show last year I’m sure that the results will come.

“I’m in a much better position stood here now and I’m looking forward to 2017.”