Palmer is pegged back after superb start to Belgian Grand Prix

A chaotic opening lap saw cars colliding and debris flying throughout the field, but the Southwater driver made an excellent start to move immediately into the top ten.

The British rookie climbed to seventh and was keeping pace with sixth-placed Romain Grosjean when the safety car was deployed following a hefty high-speed accident for team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

Palmer pitted, before red flags to allow the Eau Rouge barriers to be repaired, effectively granting those drivers who had not yet changed tyres a free pit-stop.

Palmer then struggled with tyre degradation and was instructed to ‘lift and coast’ into corners as his tyres were getting too hot. The 25-year-old said: “It’s a shame not to get a better result in the end, but this weekend has been better than we expected overall.”

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