SOCHI, Melbourne -- Jolyon Palmer refused to blame his Q1 crash on his long list of Renault problems in the build-up to qualifying in Sochi, saying he just made a "simple mistake".
An exhaust issue on Friday prompted Renault to break the overnight curfew and change the chassis on Palmer's car, but his participation in FP3 was short-lived as the team soon detected a problem which required an engine change. That left Palmer significantly down on mileage going into qualifying.
A mistake at the start of Q1 left him bottom of the timing screens going into his final run, where he clouted the Turn 4 kerb and spun into the wall.