Renault F1 is starting to perform better as the end of the season nears its climax, but it looks like Palmer is on his way out.

• Renault Sport Formula One Team’s Kevin Magnussen made a late charge to take P11 on track and thus finished just shy of the points in today’s United States Grand Prix. Kevin started from P18 on a planned one-stop strategy but as the race played out this was adapted to a two and finally a three-stop.
• Post-race Kevin was given a five-second penalty, meaning he was placed twelfth in the final classification.
• Jolyon Palmer finished in P13 using a two-stop strategy.

Kevin started the race from P18 with new set of Pirelli’s soft compound tyres. He stopped on lap 13 for another new set of soft tyres, switched to new medium compound tyres on lap 27 and then new super soft tyres on lap 43.

Jolyon started the race in P15 on new soft tyres. He stopped on lap 15 for a new set of soft compound tyres and on lap 26 for a final set of new medium tyres.

Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-04: Started P18, finished P11, P12 after penalty:

“We started with the plan for a one-stop strategy but we quickly realised that it wasn’t the best option so we swapped to a two and finally a three-stop strategy. It was tougher on tyre wear than we predicted but that did mean I was able to have some fun at the end of the race on the super soft tyres – it was the most fun I’ve had in the car all season being able to push hard to the chequered flag. It was a pretty decent race considering our qualifying position. The penalty is frustrating, but that’s racing sometimes.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-05: Started P15, finished P13:

“I had a slow start and unfortunately lost a few places that allowed Kevin to pass me, which then meant I was on his gearbox for a good two-thirds of the race. We were really struggling to follow other cars and although I was quicker, I couldn’t get close enough to pass which was so frustrating. I could have tried to lunge but that’s not a clever thing to do between team-mates. In the end, I overheated my tyres trying to overtake and fell back a little bit.”

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal:

“I’m in two minds about today’s Grand Prix. I’m happy we were able to adapt our strategy well as the race evolved, however at times our race pace was not as consistent as we’d like. In our first stint we didn’t seem to make progress yet at times we did see both cars deliver very good lap times considering their respective tyre conditions. We will be very vigilant in our post-race analysis to understand where we can better maximise our opportunities in the future. We finished just shy of the points today, but in the points is where we want to be.”

Japanese F1 Renault finish with both drivers, with each gaining places on their starting grid line ups.

• Renault Sport Formula One Team team-mates Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen drove a measured Emirates Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka today.
• The team opted for a one-stop tyre strategy for the 53-lap race, with both Jolyon and Kevin fighting in the middle of the pack throughout and taking the chequered flag in P12 and P14 respectively.
• Jolyon gained four and Kevin three places from their starting positions.

Kevin started the race from P17 with new set of Pirelli’s hard compound tyres. He stopped on lap 25 for a new set of medium tyres.

Jolyon started the race in P16 on new medium tyres. He stopped on lap 25 for a new set of hard tyres.

Kevin Magnussen, #20, R.S.16-04: Started P17, finished P14

“I started the race on hard tyres against others around me on the softs and mediums – it was always going to be tough today. We can’t be completely satisfied with today’s race after scoring points in the last two races but we will work hard to get back into point-scoring position in the coming races. The next round is in the USA and it’s a pretty cool track to drive so I look forward to being there next.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-05: Started P16, finished P12

“Tenth last week, twelfth this week, but this week everyone finished the race! We had a lot of luck last week and I think today was actually a stronger performance. We beat everyone that we could this afternoon. I’m pleased with how we went, the strategy, the pace, performance… Everything was good.”

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

“It was a good weekend for us in terms of performance, with our best Free Practice 3 to date where we were in the top ten. Qualifying, however, was a bit disappointing. Of course Jolyon got into Q2, but I think that we could have done better overall on Saturday afternoon. Our race pace was similar again to what we had seen in FP3; we fought with Williams in terms of pace until the end of the race and we were in front of McLaren and Toro Rosso. Today’s race confirmed that we have gone a step forward in pure performance, despite a tricky qualifying session on Saturday. Overall the weekend has been encouraging and both drivers did a solid job in the race with a strategy that worked well for the team.”

Palmer finishes the latest F1 round with 1 point, his first, as Magnussen fails to finish the Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix

• Renault Sport Formula One Team’s Jolyon Palmer scored his first FIA Formula One World Championship point in today’s hot and fast-paced Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix. Jolyon put his disappointment from yesterday’s qualifying behind him to deliver in emphatic fashion his tenth-placed finish from P19 on the grid, thanks to a one-stop tyre strategy.
• Kevin Magnussen was unable to translate Saturday’s qualifying form into a race result as contact back and front on the first lap damaged a brake cooling drum fence. Kevin’s brakes subsequently became unsustainably hot, which meant retirement from the race was the only option.

Kevin started the race from P14 with new set of Pirelli’s medium compound tyres. He stopped at the end of the first lap to replace a damaged front wing and change to a new set of Pirelli’s hard compound tyres. He retired on lap 17 due to overheating brakes.

Jolyon started the race in P19 on new hard tyres. He stopped on lap 31 for a new set of soft tyres.

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

“I was the filling in the sandwich as everyone reacted to the Vettel / Rosberg incident at the start. Everyone braked and went for the inside of the corner which isn’t great if you’re already at the inside of the corner and have contact from behind pushing you forward. 

That’s motor racing sometimes. We changed the front wing and kept pushing, however the brake cooling was damaged, and the brake temperature kept climbing, so we had to retire. 

Nevertheless it’s been a promising weekend. We continue to extract more pace from the car and we’ll be pushing to keep this level of performance. I scored last time out; Jo scored today. Points are what we all want to see.”

Jolyon Palmer, #30, R.S.16-05: Started P19, finished P10

“Point-scorer: It feels good! I’m really happy, I think the whole week has been really positive. The race was really smooth – I wish it was always so straightforward! 

I was really disappointed with how qualifying went especially as I’d been feeling strong all weekend, so I’m glad the race went really well and we could make up for it today. The car gave me everything I needed, we handled the tyres well and the team did a great job with strategy and pit stops. 

We got a little bit of a break as well; finally everything came together and we got it home to P10!”

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

“Congratulations to Jo for scoring his first point in Formula One. After a disappointing qualifying yesterday he got his head down and delivered a very good race. 

We ran to an aggressive strategy and Jo did everything required to make this work so a great effort from him and the team today. Kevin was unfortunate to be caught out as the result of an incident ahead on the first lap. 

Thanks to his strong qualifying, he was well placed for a decent points-scoring position, but there was nothing he could do. Today we saw once more that everyone in the team is pushing in the same direction and we will continue to fight for every point possible for the remaining five races this season.”