Palmer to miss qualifying due to chassis damage

Jolyon Palmer will not take place in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying for the Formula 1 Gran Premio de Mexico 2016 after Renault were not able to repair his car in time following damage sustained in final practice.

Palmer finished a highly encouraging 14th fastest in FP3, but team mechanics discovered the Englishman’s chassis to be cracked following the session, possibly the result of running very heavily over kerbs after a mistake late in the hour.

His failure to participate in qualifying means Palmer will now only be allowed to race at the stewards’ discretion. However, this should be a formality given his competitive laps times from practice.