Renault: Time for an overhaul?
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Despite the chaos of the Azerbaijan GP – with points for nearly all mid – level teams, legacy team Renault were the only ones to not finish in the points. Hulkenberg crashed into the wall to end his race, while Jolyon Palmer – who has had consistently bad results all year, saw smoke billowing out of his car.
Unlucky DNFs for both – but Hulkenberg has raced better all year, and indeed is the more qualified driver of the two, doing well with Force India in the previous season. Palmer, on the other hand, has seen his seat under scrutiny for a while, with Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul saying he will need to “perform or leave.”
Simple directions there, really. And still very, very dire. Palmer’s security there is not really helped along by the return of talented driver Robert Kubica, who was in his heyday widely tipped to be a future champion. Still only 32, Kubica saw his F1 career ended abruptly in 2011 after a massive shunt in rally racing where he nearly severed his arm.
Kubica has had historical ties to Renault even before his F1 stint, with the team part of even his junior career. This year, the Polish driver has run several tests – and over a hundred laps – in a Formula One car and significantly described himself as “ready” to race in an F1 cockpit – something his injuries prevented him from doing until now.
With Kubica’s speed and talent – and now that he has returned to racing fitness, Palmer’s seat could well be in jeopardy, and it’s not hard to see why. With Alain Prost for a team principal, a decent engine and a good teammate, Kubica himself would flourish here. Could that be a possibility? I think so.
