In an interview with the media yesterday, GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer has revealed a test driver role at Force India is an “option” as he seeks to get a foot in the Formula 1 door.
GP2 Champion Palmer made his F1 debut earlier this week with Force India, putting in the laps at the Yas Marina circuit. Palmer, who finished fourth quickest in Tuesday’s test, is now dreaming of a future in Formula 1.
The 23-year-old Brit has revealed there is the possibility of a future with Force India, whose test drivers have in the past gone on to race for the team. That though, is just one of his options.
In an interview with the media yesterday, Palmer stated that he believes Force India are a team to give young drivers chances and that there are a few options he is looking at besides the Force India team. Palmer stated the following:-
‘Force India are a team that give young drivers chances. If a role was possible here it would be good as they helped out Paul di Resta before he moved up, and Jules Bianchi too, with proper FP1 programmes.
‘There are some teams that barely give time in the car, so if I was to do it, it would be with a team that really gives the driver a chance. Force India does that. It’s an option but we’re looking at quite a few things.’
As Palmer rightly points out, Force India have a track record of giving young drivers the opportunity to gain and acquire experience within Formula One and giving them a chance to show what they can do on the track. By providing di Resta and Bianchi as an example, it is clear that Palmer believes that if a deal could be done with Force India, then he would be happy to be with the team.
But at this stage of his career and winning the GP championship this season, there will be a range of options available to Palmer and he will be looking at these and deciding for himself which one will benefit him as a driver and also for his career in the long term.
In conclusion, I do believe that Palmer doing a deal with Force India wouldn’t be a bad thing for him and his career. Not only would this provide him with a great opportunity to develop himself and as a driver within the team and gain Formula One experience, this could provide him with a platform to get a race seat in Formula One just like di Resta and Bianchi did a few seasons ago which has therefore to me proved that this approach can work.
And after all, that is Palmer’s objective and if he decides that Force India isn’t the best way for him to achieve this, then all we can do is respect his decision. But I ultimately feel that Palmer should be doing all that he can do to sign some sort of deal with Force India and start working on trying as hard as possible to show what he can do in a Formula One car that will ultimately get him a race seat in Formula One in the near future.
And for me, Force India is the best option for Palmer and provides him with the best chance of trying to race in Formula One in the near future.
