After a dreadful Brazilian F1 race with atrocious weather, Palmer crashed out & Magnussen finished in P14 from a p18 start.

Kevin started the race from P18 with a new set of Pirelli’s full wet tyres. He stopped on lap 7 for a new set of intermediate tyres, fitted new wets during the first red flag on lap 20, used wets during the second red flag on lap 28 and pitted on lap 41 for a new set of intermediate tyres.

Jolyon started the race in P16 on new wet tyres. He stopped on lap 9 for a new set of intermediate tyres and on lap 17 for a new set of wet tyres.

Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-04: Started P18, finished P14

“The conditions today were definitely testing, especially turn 12 which isn’t actually a corner in the dry but became a real corner in the wet! 

There was clear aquaplaning there, and even if there hadn’t been, it was still on the limit. I do wish we could have driven more today though. 

Of course you should have red flags to clear a crash and safety should always be the priority, but after that, I feel we were too careful with driving in the wet. At the end of the day, it’s up to us drivers to slow down enough to get around it. 

We just need to drive to the conditions and not go over the limit, which is exactly what we do in the dry.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-05: Started P16, DNF

“The conditions this afternoon were very difficult and unfortunately we had to retire following contact with Kvyat. 

I had some more grip at that point on full wet tyres and I was faster than cars in front on intermediates. I wanted to make up some places. In the end the visibility was so bad that I couldn’t even see past my steering wheel. 

I didn’t see where the corner went, I knew that there was the pitwall and pitlane somewhere; I just couldn’t see anything. Kvyat in front of me was slower and I hit him. 

Around the lap, the visibility wasn’t too bad and there were some places where you aquaplaned but coming up the hill you had no traction and couldn’t see if you were behind anyone else. 

You had to guess where you were going, there was water on track and rivers of water running across. It was really tricky.”

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

“It was a tough afternoon for the team and a tricky race in wet weather conditions for everyone. The biggest issue we encountered was the performance of our car with the full wet tyres. 

We weren’t able to perform over long stints with these sets of tyres and had to switch to intermediate tyres whenever it was possible but in the end it wasn’t enough for us to get into the points with Kevin. 

Unfortunately Jolyon sustained front suspension damage when he hit Kvyat and we had to retire him. We are now looking forward to the ultimate race of the season in Abu Dhabi where I hope we can have a race in better conditions.”

Renault had a two prong race at Monza with Palmer being punted off and Magnussen finishing higher than his start position.

• Jolyon Palmer made up a number of positions after a spirited start however contact with Felipe Nasr – for which the Sauber driver was subsequently penalised – led to retirement on safety grounds. Kevin Magnussen also made a strong start and finished in seventeenth position.
• Kevin started the race from P21 with a new set of Pirelli’s red super soft tyres. He changed to new yellow softs on lap 14 then new super soft tyres on lap 30.
• Jolyon started the race in P20 on new soft tyres. After contact with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr at turn two on the first lap, he pitted for a new front wing, safety check and a set of new medium compound tyres at the end of the second lap. He returned to the pits to retire at the end of his seventh lap.

Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-04: Started P21, finished P17

“My start was okay but there were incidents everywhere… I had a better start than the Saubers ahead of me, which meant going around them, then another car on the grid. After that, I was able to build-up the momentum into turn two but had to avoid a spinning car by going on the grass. 

From then on, it was a quiet race with just a bit of early action with one of the Manors. It’s a shame that we didn’t get a good result today but we still learn more about the car every weekend and this race was no exception.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-02: Started P20, DNF

“I had a really good start and made a lot of positions. I was alongside Nasr through turn one with no problem then he decided to run me off the road in turn two. I can’t explain why he did that or imagine what he was thinking. 

I went as far off the track as I could without risking a spin from the gravel and he still made contact with me. There was no racing room and both our races ended way too early. For me I feel I’m driving better than ever and I’m hopeful that will show in Singapore.”

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

“After the promise of Spa, Monza proved to be our toughest challenge of the year. Jolyon made a fantastic start but was robbed of the potential to improve further by the actions of Felipe Nasr, who was punished for the incident. 

Kevin did what he could in a car which was clearly not suited to Monza. We knew this season would be tough and this weekend was particularly so. The positives are not easily seen on track but rather lie in all the hard work going on behind the scenes in Enstone and Viry and we know that in 2017 we will be far stronger. Our immediate focus is now on Singapore where we should show better performance than here.”

Renault Formula One had a poor Monaco Grand Prix with both cars failing to finish.

Renault Sport Formula One Team suffered a disappointing double retirement from an eventful Monaco Grand Prix. Kevin Magnussen showed promising progress with an early swap to intermediate tyres after a race start on full wet tyres behind the safety car. 

Kevin’s potential was ultimately undone by an unfathomable onslaught from a one-lap-down Daniil Kvyat. He continued to race but subsequently ended up in the barriers again and retired from the Grand Prix.

Jolyon Palmer’s race was far shorter, ending after aquaplaning into the barriers on the main straight, then into the barriers at Sainte Devote on the seventh lap.

• Kevin started the race in P16 on the full wet Pirelli tyres. He made a switch to the intermediate tyres on lap 7 then had a Kyvat-induced stop for a new front wing and replacement intermediates on lap 21. He later stopped for new super softs on lap 29 and new ultra softs and a further front wing on lap 32. He retired a lap later.
• Jolyon started the race in P18 on the full wet Pirelli tyres. He aquaplaned into the barriers and out of the race on lap 7.

Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-02: Started P16, DNF

“We had a good start to the race and made a really good strategic call to change to the intermediate tyres just after the safety car. We were the only ones to do it so early and it was the right decision.

We were in a good position as a lot of people were still to pit and we gained a lot of places. Unfortunately, Kvyat just lost his mind and crashed into me and that was effectively the end of my race. 

We did continue and made an early change to slicks as we had nothing to lose, but ultimately I hit the wall and damaged the front wing. We were several laps down at that point and the car had been in the wars so it was safer to retire. 

It’s a shame we didn’t have a good weekend as we were very optimistic for the race. Now we have to shift our focus to Canada and have a better weekend there. Montréal should be a stronger track for us and should play to the strengths of the updates for the car.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-03: Started P18, DNF

“The traction was appalling after the safety car and I got caught out. I had wheelspin in fifth gear on the white line that crosses the track. There was nothing I could do – I was just a passenger and went straight away into the wall. 

It’s so difficult as we know that the white lines are slippery but they are everywhere. I’m disappointed as I love this track and it’s been good for me in the past. But I’m now looking forward to Canada and putting this weekend behind me. 

Monaco hasn’t been good to me this year so we need to move on to the next race and look for a better weekend.”

Fred Vasseur, Racing Director

“It was a tough weekend for both cars. Jolyon’s race ended on the straight as soon as the race got underway. He had a pretty serious shunt, a fast one, and that put an end to his day; there was nothing to be done. 

For Kevin, he asked to swap to intermediates pretty early in the race which was a good call, despite suffering from being in traffic for a while. 

His race effectively ended thanks to the incident with Kvyat which is a shame especially as there may have been something to be done from where he was ranked as we had a strategy that was slightly out of step from everyone else’s. In any case, we’ll go lick our wounds and move our focus to Canada.”