Jolyon Palmer says 14th in the Mexican Grand Prix is “as good as we could have got” after starting from the back of the grid.
The British driver failed to take part in qualifying after his car suffered a cracked chassis in third practice, meaning he lined up 21st for the race.
Palmer pitted at the end of lap one after the safety car was deployed, going from super-softs to mediums and reaching the chequered flag on the tyre.
He enjoyed some feisty battles as he moved up the order and ended the race 14th, after 69 laps on his medium compound.
“I think fourteenth is as good as we could have got from starting at the back, so I’m happy,” he explained.
“I had some really good fights with the McLaren guys, which was good fun, and 70 laps on one set of tyres is probably some sort of record.
“It was a bit of a challenge but in the end we were still going okay; we were quick enough to keep our competitors behind. All in all, I’m pretty happy.”
