Hungarian GP: Is Jolyon Palmer F1 2017's most unlucky driver?
Charting the misfortune to befall the Renault driver this season
Tuesday 1 August 2017 21:45, UK
Jolyon Palmer says he has "burnt his unlucky underpants" ahead of the Hungarian GP, but just how badly has his season been hindered by misfortune?
The Renault driver has yet to score a point in 2017, but has often been playing catch-up on a race weekend due to technical issues.
Here, Sky Sports F1 looks at the problems Palmer has faced since the start of the season...
Australian GP
Palmer's woes go back to the first practice session on the opening Friday of the season in Melbourne.
The Englishman was limited to just six laps as a transmission issue left his car up on the jacks in the Renault garage for much of the morning.
Then, as he pushed to make up for lost time in the second session, Palmer lost the rear in the final corner and piled into the barriers.
The lack of running would come back to haunt him on Saturday as he struggled for balance and grip and once again ended his day with his car in the barriers.
And come race day, technical gremlins would return to Palmer's RS17 as a promising start was curtailed on lap 15 by a brake issue which forced him to retire.
Chinese GP
Palmer's fortunes would fare no better in Shanghai as he was caught out not once but twice by crashes by Sauber stand-in Antonio Giovinazzi.
The 26-year-old had been on course to comfortably reach Q2 when his flying lap was ruined by Giovinazzi crashing at the final corner.
It would be a double whammy for Palmer as he was then demoted to the back of the grid after stewards determined he had not slowed sufficiently under the double yellow flags for the stricken Sauber.
Playing catch-up, Palmer went aggressive on a drying track by pitting at the end of the formation lap to switch onto slick tyres.
But any hope of making up places through pit stops were curtailed when Giovinazzi binned his car for the second time in 24 hours. With the Virtual Safety Car deployed, the majority of the field were handed a free stop, leaving Palmer ultimately having to settle for 13th.
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Bahrain GP
Bahrain would prove to be a breakthrough of sorts for Palmer as he reached the final part of qualifying for the first time in his F1 career to start 10th on the grid.
But come race day it would be a tough afternoon for Renault and Palmer. The team struggled for pace due to extreme tyre degradation with both Palmer and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg finishing lower than they started.
The Englishman's cause was not helped by contact from Daniil Kvyat as the Toro Rosso driver passed him up the inside of Turn One.
Russian GP
After the relative high of Bahrain, Palmer's bad luck would return in Russia as he completed fewer than half a dozen laps over Saturday and Sunday.
He would fail to set a timed lap in Practice Three as Renault were forced into a power unit change after an exhaust-gas leak around the gearbox melted part of the chassis.
On the back foot heading into Qualifying, Palmer was in P16 and pushing to improve his time to reach Q2 when his right rear tyre clipped the kerb and sent him into the barriers.
And his race would last just two corners as he was left a passenger as Romain Grosjean attempted an ambitious move up the inside and sent both of them out.
Spanish GP
After sitting out the morning practice session as Sergey Sirotkin drove his car, the Spanish GP weekend started promisingly for Palmer as he posted the eighth fastest time on Friday afternoon.
But that would be as good as it got as Renault suffered a dramatic loss of pace over the Saturday and Sunday, with Palmer going out in Q1 again while his aggressive race strategy did not bring the rewards hoped for.
Monaco GP
On a track where confidence is key, Palmer's bad luck returned as he found himself once again playing catch-up after an engine blow-out ended his second practice session after only eight laps.
It left him having to explore the limits of Monte Carlo's iconic street circuit on Saturday and, as he battled understeer, a kiss with the barriers left him with a rear puncture which compromised his Q1.
Sunday would see improvement in Palmer's fortunes as he worked his way up five places from P16 and left him declaring "it felt much better than P11".
Canadian GP
A rare, trouble-free weekend for Palmer. He managed to escape Q1 for only the second time this season, although could only manage 15th after struggling with tyre warm-up in Q2.
But he worked his way up to finish 11th for the second consecutive race and less than a second off the final point-scoring spot.
Azerbaijan GP
"I can't remember ever having so few laps over a race weekend."
Palmer's season reached its lowest point in Baku as he was hit by a series of problems. It started in Practice Two as, with every driver struggling for grip, he was caught out at the tricky Turn Eight and crashed into the barriers.
That would prompt the FIA to change the kerbing, but Palmer's woes would continue on Saturday as a major engine fire in Practice Three caused significant damage to his car and forced him to sit out Qualifying.
And his race would last just seven laps as his new power unit suffered from misfires and left him limping back to the pits.
Austrian GP
Yet another weekend where Palmer found himself sat in the Renault garage with his car up on its jacks on a Friday.
An electrical issue limited the Briton's running to just seven laps in the afternoon and the lack of running may have contributed to the small error which saw him fail to escape Q1 on Saturday by just three hundredths of a second.
But he would enjoy his strongest race of the season, climbing from P17 to P11, finishing 25 seconds ahead of team-mate Hulkenberg and less than a second outside of the points.
British GP
Amid fresh rumours over his future, Palmer suffered a home grand prix to forget as his race was over before it had even started.
Set to start 11th after his second-best qualifying session of the season, Palmer's car suffered a hydraulic leak on the formation lap which left him parking up on the side of the Hanger Straight.
"We have to say sorry to Jo as he finally had the starting position he needed and we all wanted him to get those first points," Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul said post-race.
It was the third technical issue his car had suffered over the weekend after an MGU-K problem and then a clutch issue had once again limited his Friday running.
Will Palmer's luck finally change this weekend in Hungary?
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