Jolyon Palmer facts for kids

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
Children	1
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 on January 20, 1991) is a British former racing driver. He now works as a broadcaster and journalist. Jolyon raced in Formula One during 2016 and 2017. Since he stopped racing, Palmer has become an expert commentator for the BBC, Channel 4, and F1TV.

Before his media career, Jolyon was a racing driver. He won the 2014 GP2 Series championship. Palmer drove for the Renault Sport F1 Team in Formula One. He started his Formula One journey with Renault in 2016. That year, he earned his first championship points at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Jolyon continued racing for Renault in 2017 until the Japanese Grand Prix.

Jolyon's father, Jonathan Palmer, was also a Formula One driver. He owns several big race tracks in the UK. Jolyon went to Dorset House School, then Cranleigh School. He later studied Management Studies at the University of Nottingham, graduating in 2012. In 2015, he was a test driver for the Lotus Formula One team. He became a full-time race driver the next year when Renault took over the team.

After leaving Renault during the 2017 season, Palmer became an F1 analyst. He worked for the BBC and the F1 app with Jack Nicholls. He writes regular articles for the BBC Sport website. He is also a special writer for the official F1 website. There, he hosts Jolyon Palmer's Analysis after each Grand Prix.

Racing Career Highlights

Early Racing: T Cars (2005–2007)

Jolyon started racing cars in 2005. He joined the T Cars championship, which is for drivers aged 14 to 17. In his first year, he finished fifth in the Autumn Trophy. In 2006, he competed in the main championship. He earned one pole position and four podium finishes. He ended up fifth in the championship again. Palmer also won four out of six races in the second Autumn Trophy. In 2007, he won both races he entered before moving to a new series.

Formula Palmer Audi (2007–2008)

In 2007, Palmer moved to the Formula Palmer Audi series. His father, Jonathan Palmer, created this series. Jolyon won two races and earned two pole positions. He finished tenth in the championship. He missed the last two races due to an injury from a quad bike accident. He nearly died and lost a kidney.

He recovered for the 2008 season. Palmer was a strong contender for the championship. He won one race in Spa and had 11 podium finishes. He also secured three pole positions. He finished third overall, just 22 points behind the winner.

FIA Formula Two (2009–2010)

In 2009, Palmer moved up to the FIA Formula Two Championship. His best result was a sixth-place finish at Imola. He returned in 2010 and won the first race at Silverstone. This was the first F2 win by a British driver since his father won in 1983. Palmer won both races in Monza and took the championship lead. He finished second overall behind Dean Stoneman.

GP2 Series (2011–2014)

Starting in GP2 (2011)

Palmer driving for Arden at the Monza round of the 2011 GP2 Series

Palmer made his main GP2 Series debut in 2011 with the Arden International team. He finished in the top ten several times. Later, he moved to the Barwa Addax team for the non-championship GP2 Finals. There, he achieved third and fourth places, ending his first year in GP2 on a high note.

First Win and Podiums (2012)

Palmer celebrates his Monaco GP2 win in 2012 with his father Jonathan

For the 2012 season, Palmer joined the iSport International team. He faced some electrical problems early on. After changing his car's chassis, his results quickly improved. He finished sixth in Monaco, then won his first GP2 race there. He also earned a podium finish at Silverstone. He ended the season in 11th place, with another podium at Monza.

Stronger Performance (2013)

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

In 2013, Palmer drove for Carlin. He won his first race of the year in Hungary. He also took pole position, fastest lap, and the win in Singapore. He finished 13 seconds ahead of his teammate. Palmer qualified in the top three in the last three races. He finished seventh overall in the points standings.

Becoming GP2 Champion (2014)

Palmer driving for iSport at the Silverstone round of the 2012

Palmer joined DAMS for the 2014 GP2 Series. He started the season strong, taking pole position and a podium in Bahrain. He won the Sprint Race the next day and led the championship. He kept this lead for the rest of the year. He also won another race in Monaco.

At Monza, Palmer had to start from the back of the grid. This was because his car had too little fuel after qualifying. Despite this, he finished eighth in the Feature Race. This gave him reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race, which he won. This further increased his championship lead.

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

After winning, he said: "It wasn't going to be easy to win the championship this weekend. I can't thank the team enough. They've done an incredible job all year. We've been fighting for pretty much every Feature Race win and every pole with almost no mistakes. It feels amazing to be champion!"

In November 2014, it was announced that Palmer would test for the Sahara Force India F1 team.

Formula One Career

Testing with Force India (2014)

Palmer tested a Force India car at the end-of-season test. This took place at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit on November 25, 2014.

Lotus Test Driver (2015)

On January 20, 2015, Palmer signed as a test and reserve driver for the Lotus F1 Formula One team. The team's main drivers were Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean.

Palmer first drove the team's 2015 car, the E23 Hybrid, during a pre-season test in Barcelona. He completed 77 laps, focusing on gathering data. He finished the day in eighth place. Lotus F1 Team's director said Jolyon did a great job in his first time in the car.

He made his Formula One debut during a Grand Prix weekend in China. He took part in the Free Practice One session. Palmer completed a busy schedule and finished 15th. In Bahrain, he finished 14th. He also drove in Free Practice One at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing 13th. He even topped the timesheets during an in-season test in Barcelona. It was announced that he would drive in Free Practice 1 for the rest of the European season. This included five Grands Prix from Austria to Italy.

He continued in practice sessions in Austria and Britain. He finished 14th in both. In Hungary, he had limited running. Palmer tested a new front-wing for Lotus in Belgium. His final appearance in the Lotus E23 was in Abu Dhabi. Technical problems limited his time on track to just 10 minutes.

Racing with 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 Formula One. His teammate was Kevin Magnussen.

In his first race in Australia, Palmer out-qualified Magnussen. He finished 11th, just outside the points. Car issues affected his next races in Bahrain and China. But he bounced back in Russia, finishing 13th. He repeated this result in Spain, ahead of his teammate. After some difficult races, he finished 15th in Azerbaijan.

Palmer had his best result since Australia in Austria, finishing 12th. His home Grand Prix at Silverstone ended early due to a gearbox problem. However, he then had a career-best drive in Hungary, finishing 12th. In Malaysia, Palmer achieved his best result yet. He claimed his first World Championship point by finishing 10th. On November 9, 2016, Renault announced that Palmer would stay with them for 2017.

2017 Season

Palmer driving for Renault at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

Kevin Magnussen left Renault. Nico Hülkenberg joined from Force India as Palmer's new teammate.

Renault showed their new R.S.17 car in London on January 22. Palmer first drove the R.S.17 in Spain in late February. He ended the week with the third fastest time on the final day.

On the day he learned he would lose his seat for 2018, he had a career-best finish of sixth in Singapore. This was his only points finish of the season. On October 7, 2017, Renault announced Palmer would leave the team after the Japanese Grand Prix. He was replaced by Carlos Sainz Jr. Palmer later shared that Renault did not tell him their decision directly. He found out from an Autosport article.

Media Career After Formula One (2018–Present)

On February 22, 2018, it was announced that Palmer would join the BBC Radio 5's Formula One team. He works as an expert alongside Jack Nicholls and Jennie Gow. Palmer is praised for his knowledge and unique insights into modern Formula One.

Palmer writes a regular column on the BBC website after each Grand Prix. He also contributes to the official F1 website. There, he analyzes racing incidents using different camera angles. Palmer has appeared as a guest presenter on F1 Live. This is a post-race show available on social media.

Palmer also wrote for Sky Sports F1, with a GP2 Diary after each event. He was a regular co-commentator for the GP2 Series on Sky Sports F1 in 2015. He also commentated on the FIA Formula Two Championship with Jack Nicholls.

As of 2024, Palmer 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. In this show, he reviews each recent Formula One race.

Other Racing Activities

Race of Champions (2014–2015)

After his GP2 success, Palmer was invited to the 2014 Race of Champions in Barbados. He competed for Team Young Stars with Pascal Wehrlein. They just missed out on moving past the group stages. Palmer lost to Robby Gordon and Tom Kristensen but beat Esteban Ocon.

In the main Race of Champions event, Palmer lost to Tom Kristensen, Pascal Wehrlein, and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Palmer returned for the 2015 Race of Champions in London. He again raced with Pascal Wehrlein for the Young Stars team. They were beaten in the quarter-finals. Palmer then lost to Alex Buncombe in the individual competition.

Awards and Recognition

On December 4, 2014, 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 nominated for the Autosport Awards British Competition Driver of the Year in 2014. Lewis Hamilton, a Formula One World Champion, won the award.

He also received the British Racing Drivers' Club's Fairfield Trophy in 2014. This award is for a BRDC member who shows outstanding performance. Lewis Hamilton and Damon Hill attended the ceremony.

Personal Life

Jolyon Palmer is the son of former F1 driver and UK race circuit owner Jonathan Palmer. His younger brother, Will, won the 2015 British BRDC Formula 4 Championship. He also won the prestigious 2015 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

Palmer supports Ipswich Town F.C. and Crystal Palace F.C..

Racing Record Summary

Career Summary

See also

In Spanish: Jolyon Palmer para niños