F1 star found out about team SACKING through the media

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F1 star found out about team SACKING through the media

Jolyon Palmer was replaced by Carlos Sainz at Renault in 2017

Kevin McKenna

Thursday 12 September 2024 17:44

An ex-Formula 1 driver has opened up on how he first discovered he was to lose his seat after reading about it in the media.

The shock revelation comes just days before the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix gets underway in Baku.

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While the likes of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris will once again likely steal the limelight as their title battle heats up, there are a number of interesting stories to be found further back on the grid.

With just eight races remaining this season, several drivers - including high-profile stars such as Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas - are facing an uncertain future, and have work to do in order to earn a spot on the grid next year.

F1 returns to Baku this weekend for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Jolyon Palmer was sacked by Renault midway through 2017

'I was reading my own downfall'

One man who knows all about the ramifications of failing to live up to team expectations is former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer.

Palmer made over 30 starts for the French outfit for a spell between 2016-17, teaming up with current Haas racers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg during that time.

Having scored just a single point in 2016, the pressure was on the Brit to deliver the following year, but another disappointing start to the campaign prompted the team to make a change to their line-up, replacing Palmer with Carlos Sainz.

But while Palmer had anticipated such a move may happen at the end of the year, he has admitted he was taken aback by the decision to drop him midway through the 2017 season.

Carlos Sainz replaced Palmer after making the move from Toro Rosso

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid Podcast, Palmer said: "My brother sent me a message saying: 'Have you seen this?'.

"It was: 'Autosport: Sainz to replace Palmer'. That was the first I'd heard of it. I was at home and I clicked on it - I was reading my own downfall on Autosport.

"I'm not an idiot, I knew that I was not going to be staying at the end of the year, the season was not going well.

"So I thought: 'I'll wait for someone from the team to see this and reach out'. No one did.

"So I came out to Singapore, obviously in the press conference and some news has dropped about me.

"There's no way I could go up and face the world's media until someone conclusively tells me what is happening here.

"You'd have thought that after the story broke, I'd hear from my boss to tell me if it was true or not - I didn't.

"And I had to force the conversation to hear from him, so it left a bad taste on a tough year."

Max Verstappen Formula 1 Lando Norris Daniel Ricciardo Valtteri Bottas Azerbaijan Grand Prix