British star Jolyon Palmer is set to take F1 world by storm… but only after passing driving test at THIRD attempt
Meet the down-to-earth starlet who plays five-a-side with his mates before a night at the pub and drives a 50mph electric car
JOLYON PALMER might be in an elite band of 20 who can claim to be the best drivers in the world.
But that was certainly not the case in 2008 at the Crawley Driving Test Centre after he failed his test for a driving licence.
He also failed his second test too, something that still irks him as we discuss his driving history at his flat in Clapham that he shares with his sister.
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He said: "It took me three times. I passed the theory first time. I booked the test so soon after my theory.
"I took a couple of lessons so I knew what the instructors were looking for, but it turned out to be a nightmare.
"The first time I failed, it was for cutting someone up at a roundabout and then jumping the lights.
"The second one, I kept it all squeaky clean and I was on for a good one when I came to a roundabout by the test centre.
"He was indicating to come off, so I went, but then he changed his mind and drove straight on and gave me a hoot, so I was pretty fuming at that. I passed the third one easily."
Palmer is not like your average F1 driver. He is refreshingly relaxed and remains down to earth.
He still enjoys watching local team Crystal Palace - although he supports Ipswich - and playing five-a-side with his mates before a night down the pub.
There are no expensive motorcars in his garage, just a £7,000 two-seater electric Renault Twizy that can do 50mph, just, and a Megane, his other company car.
In fact, Palmer has never bought a car and retells a story about his first shunt while driving.
He added: "My first car was an Audi A3 1.6 litre and it got written off when someone drove into it while travelling on the wrong side of the road.
"I was driving around a blind bend and then an elderly couple came round the corner on my side of the road. They thought it was a dual carriageway.
"They were nonchalantly driving along and the drove straight into me head-on and wrote my car off. I was only 19 and since then I have never owned a car."
Palmer's first season in F1 was just as nervy as coming face to face with a car travelling in the wrong direction.
After his performance in Melbourne last season, he was already facing questions about whether he would be ditched by Renault for 2017.
He admits the talk about his future was a distraction. He had dreamed about driving in F1 as a child yet it looked over after only one crack, the insurance policy of a degree in business looked like a wise decision after all.
However, the 26-year-old was re-signed for another season by the French car giant and now Palmer is hoping he will finally get the chance to show what he can do.
He said: "You benefit from the experience. In my career, second-season syndrome has always been a positive thing.
"You can have some ups and downs in the first year and you learn all your lessons and then the second year, you start from fresh.
"I hope that I can become a more rounded driver this year.
"Australia was so good last year and then in Bahrain and China, I did not have the car where I wanted it and did not have the experience to describe how I wanted the car to go.
"If you've not got confidence in what is beneath you, then you start chasing your tail and the result will be bad.
"Once the results are bad, the pressure goes up and the rumours started up, and it was difficult.
"But after crashing out at Monaco I had a reset and cleared my head out and told myself to get on with the job.
"I was gutted after Monaco and not in a good place mentally. I knew the season could not go on like that.
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"I deleted all the six races from the start of the season in my head and focused on trying to go through all the practice sessions trying to keep it clean and build myself into the weekend.
"I just focused on what I needed to do right on each day and gradually things started to come together. I simply bucked my ideas up."
Palmer's new-found optimism comes after a solid winter of testing while Renault have now had the chance to pump resources into their F1 project, unlike the previous year when their takeover from Lotus was still too fresh to make an impact.
He said: "We had such a poor year last year through being massively handicapped with Lotus.
"We have now had a full year to prepare for this and the staff have been working on this car for a long time and we can hopefully make a big step up.
Palmer's favourites
Favourite holiday destination? "Corfu. It's a bit of a family holiday destination. We have an inflatable rib out there, so we do a lot of watersports and eat too much."
Track? "Brands GP. I've got to say that, my dad owns it. It's a good plug! Anyone who has driven it would put it in their top three. It is the most incredible, ballsy, flowing circuit, it has everything."
Meal? "Spaghetti bolognaise."
Travel essentials? "iPad, headphones and an eyemask"
Days off? "Playing football with my mates and then going down the pub."
Team-mate? "Marcus Ericsson. He is a fun, honest guy to get on with and we worked well together. I have always got on with my teammates, apart from Felipe Nasr."
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"The target is getting in the top five of the constructors championship, and if you can do that with things going your way, then you can sneak a podium, which is what Williams and Force India have done in recent years.
"That has to be the aim. To constantly be in the points and then, when the opportunity comes, be ready to take a podium." With Jenson Button's retirement, Palmer is one of two Brits on the grid and stands alongside Lewis Hamilton.
However, with the Monaco-resident Hamilton splitting opinions in the UK, Palmer is hoping to have the full support of the nation and says he is ready to carry the country's hopes.
He added: "It would be a privilege to be one of only two British drivers on the grid. I would love to help the British fans have a good weekend, if I could have a strong race.
"There is pressure from that but then it comes from being in F1, it is just about being in a right place mentally.
"But I think that given the car is going to be better this year, and that I have a year of experience under my belt, I am going to be in a much better position."