Renault’s Jolyon Palmer has dismissed concern over his future in Formula 1, commenting that there have been “rumours since my third race”.
Palmer graduated to Formula 1 with Renault in 2016, after a year as the outfit’s test and reserve driver, but scored only a sole point in Malaysia, amid the manufacturer’s struggles upon its full-time return to the sport.
Palmer retained his drive for 2017 but has so far been shaded by new team-mate Nico Hülkenberg, who has scored all of Renault’s 14 points, with Palmer so far logging a best result of 11th, in Monaco.
The Briton, though, has dismissed concerns, and insists that it is up to him to alleviate any pressure, as he chases his first point of the season.
“What puts pressure on is not putting in good performances,” Palmer said ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
“I am aware that the start of the year has been pretty disappointing. I am working hard and I am ready to turn it around.
“In terms of the rumours there have been rumours since my third ever race in F1 so it is nothing new for me.
“Of course, the way to stop it is to do well on track and hopefully I can do that this weekend.”
Palmer insists that he and Renault have been making progress, despite his failure to break into the top 10 in race trim.
“It’s been a tough start to the year, there’s been some positives recently even if it doesn’t necessarily show on the results sheet," he said.
“Monaco was a race distance and we were pretty competitive in terms of times as well, but obviously when you start 16th it’s difficult to make any overtakes or do much else.”
Renault test driver Sergey Sirotkin and Robert Kubica both participated in a private test in Renault's 2012 car in Valencia earlier this week.
