Jolyon Palmer facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Jolyon Palmer
Palmer at the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix
Born	Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (1991-01-20) 20 January 1991 (age 34) Horsham, West Sussex, England
Parent(s)	Jonathan Palmer (father)
Relatives	Will Palmer (brother)

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	2016–2017
Teams	Renault
Car number	30
Entries	37 (35 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	9
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2016 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry	2017 Japanese Grand Prix


Previous series
2011–2014 2011 2009–2011 2007–2008 2005–2007	GP2 Series GP2 Asia Series FIA Formula Two Formula Palmer Audi T Cars
Championship titles
2014 2006	GP2 Series T Cars Autumn Trophy

Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (born 20 January 1991) is a British former racing driver. He also works as a broadcaster and journalist. Jolyon competed in Formula One from 2016 to 2017.

After he stopped racing, Palmer became a sports expert for the BBC, Channel 4, and F1TV. Before his media career, he was a successful racing driver. He even won the 2014 GP2 Series championship.

Palmer raced for the Renault Sport F1 Team in Formula One. He started his Formula One journey in 2016. That year, he earned his first championship points at the Malaysian Grand Prix. He continued with Renault until the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix.

Jolyon is the son of Jonathan Palmer, who was also an F1 driver. Jonathan now owns several race tracks in the UK. Jolyon went to Dorset House School and Cranleigh School. He later studied Management Studies at the University of Nottingham. In 2015, he was a test driver for the Lotus F1 Team. The next year, he became a full-time race driver when Renault took over the team.

After leaving Renault in 2017, Jolyon became an F1 analyst for the BBC. He also writes columns for the BBC Sport website. He is a special writer for the official F1 website. There, he hosts "Jolyon Palmer's Analysis" after each Grand Prix.

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Racing Career Highlights

Starting in T Cars (2005–2007)

Jolyon began racing cars in 2005. He joined the T Cars championship. This series was for young drivers aged 14 to 17. In his first year, he finished fifth in the Autumn Trophy. He earned 92 points.

In 2006, he raced in the main T Cars championship. He achieved one pole position and four podium finishes. He again placed fifth overall. Jolyon also won four out of six races in the second Autumn Trophy. He won two races in 2007 before focusing on a new series.

Formula Palmer Audi (2007–2008)

In 2007, Palmer moved to the Formula Palmer Audi series. His father, Jonathan, had created this series. Jolyon quickly improved his results. He won two races and earned two pole positions. He finished tenth in the championship.

He had a serious quad bike accident that year. He recovered in time for the 2008 season. He was a top contender for the championship. Jolyon won one race in Spa and had 11 podium finishes. He ended up in third place overall.

FIA Formula Two (2009–2010)

In 2009, Jolyon stepped up to the FIA Formula Two Championship. His best finish was sixth place. He returned in 2010 and won the first race at Silverstone. This was the first F2 win by a British driver since his father in 1983.

He won two more races at Monza, taking the championship lead. Jolyon finished the season in second place. He made a brief return to F2 in 2011 but did not start the races.

GP2 Series Success (2011–2014)

Palmer driving for Arden at the 2011 Monza GP2 round

Jolyon made his main GP2 Series debut in 2011. He drove for the Arden International team. He had several top-ten finishes. Later that year, he joined the Barwa Addax team for the non-championship GP2 Finals. There, he achieved third and fourth places.

2012 GP2 Season

Palmer celebrates his 2012 Monaco GP2 win with his father Jonathan

For the 2012 season, Palmer moved to the iSport International team. He faced some electrical problems early on. However, his results quickly improved. He finished sixth in Monaco and then won his first GP2 race there.

He also earned a podium finish at Silverstone. This put him in the top ten of the championship. He finished the season in 11th place, with another podium at Monza.

2013 GP2 Season

Palmer on the grid in his DAMS car at Barcelona in 2014

In 2013, Jolyon raced for Carlin. He won his first race of the year in Hungary. He then took pole position, fastest lap, and the win in Singapore. He finished 13 seconds ahead of his teammate. Palmer ended the season in seventh place overall.

2014 GP2 Championship Win

Palmer driving for iSport at the 2012 Silverstone GP2 round

Jolyon joined DAMS for the 2014 GP2 Series. He started strong, taking pole position in Bahrain. He won the Sprint Race the next day. He held the championship lead for the rest of the year. He also won the feature race in Monaco.

He had close battles with Felipe Nasr in Hungary. At Monza, he started from the back of the grid. But he still managed to win the Sprint Race. This helped him extend his championship lead.

Palmer won the championship at the Sochi circuit in Russia. He secured the title with three races remaining. He also set a new record for the most points in the series.

After winning, he said: "It feels amazing to be champion! The pressure is off us now. Looking through the list of previous GP2 Champions, they're all unbelievable drivers. To be on that list is something incredible."

Formula One Journey

Force India (2014)

Jolyon got a chance to test drive a Force India car. This happened at the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi in November 2014.

Lotus (2015)

On January 20, 2015, Palmer signed as a test and reserve driver for the Lotus F1 Formula One team. He joined former GP2 champions Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean.

He first drove the team's 2015 car, the E23 Hybrid, in Barcelona. He completed 77 laps, gathering important data. He finished the day in eighth place. Lotus F1 Team's director praised his work.

Jolyon made his Grand Prix weekend debut in China. He took part in Free Practice One. He finished 15th, doing aerodynamic and setup work. He continued to drive in practice sessions throughout the year. He even topped the timesheets during a test in Barcelona.

Renault (2016–2017)

Palmer driving for Renault at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix

Palmer at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix

2016 Season

On October 23, 2015, Palmer confirmed he would be a full-time race driver for the Renault Sport F1 Team in 2016. He was the first driver from the FIA Formula Two Championship to reach a Formula One team. Kevin Magnussen joined him as his teammate.

In his first race in Australia, Palmer out-qualified Magnussen. He finished 11th, just missing out on points. He faced some car issues in later races. But he bounced back with strong finishes in Russia and Spain.

He had to retire from some races due to problems like a water leak or collisions. At the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, Jolyon had his best result. He finished 10th, earning his first World Championship point. In November 2016, Renault announced he would stay for 2017.

2017 Season

Palmer driving for Renault at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

Kevin Magnussen left Renault, and Nico Hülkenberg became Palmer's new teammate. Renault showed off their new R.S.17 car in London. It was yellow and black, with Jolyon's race number 30.

Palmer first drove the R.S.17 in Barcelona. He ended the week with the third fastest time. This was behind only Kimi Räikkönen and Max Verstappen.

At the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix, he achieved his career-best finish of sixth place. This earned him his only points of the season. On October 7, 2017, Renault announced that Palmer would leave the team after the Japanese Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz Jr. took his place. Jolyon later shared that he learned about this decision from an article, which was a surprise to him.

Media Career After Formula One (2018–Present)

On February 22, 2018, it was announced that Jolyon would join the BBC Radio 5's Formula One team. He became an expert commentator. People have praised his knowledge and clear explanations. He offers unique insights into modern Formula One.

Palmer also writes a regular column on the BBC website after each Grand Prix. He is a special writer for the official Formula 1 website. There, he analyzes racing incidents using different camera angles. He has also appeared as a guest presenter on F1 Live.

Before this, Palmer wrote for Sky Sports F1. He was also a regular co-commentator for the GP2 Series on Sky Sports F1. He also commented on the FIA Formula Two Championship.

As of 2024, Jolyon works with F1 TV, BBC Sport, and Channel 4. He is a commentator on F1 Live. He also has his own show on F1 TV called "Jolyon Palmer's Analysis," where he reviews each Formula One race.

Other Racing Activities

After his GP2 success, Palmer was invited to the 2014 Race of Champions. This event was held in Barbados. He competed for Team Young Stars with Pascal Wehrlein. They narrowly missed moving past the group stages.

Palmer returned to the 2015 Race of Champions in London. He again raced with Pascal Wehrlein. They were beaten in the quarter-finals.

Awards and Recognition

On December 4, 2014, Jolyon Palmer won the Guild of Motoring Writers Driver of the Year Award. This award is given to the top driver chosen by leading motorsport journalists. Famous past winners include Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.

Palmer was also nominated for the Autosport Awards British Competition Driver of the Year in 2014. He received the British Racing Drivers' Club's Fairfield Trophy in 2014. This award is for outstanding performance by a BRDC member.

Personal Life

Jolyon Palmer is the son of former F1 driver and UK race circuit owner Jonathan Palmer. His younger brother, Will, is also a successful racing driver. Will won the 2015 British BRDC Formula 4 Championship.

Palmer supports two football clubs: Ipswich Town F.C. and Crystal Palace F.C..