Renault drivers move up the order

Jolyon Palmer finished just shy of the points in 12th after starting 20th and Enstone team-mate Kevin Magnussen finished 14th after starting 17th.

The positions were gained despite a mid-race safety car which was less than complimentary to the team’s tyre strategy and a five second penalty for Magnussen.

Racing director Fred Vasseur said: “Our race pace wasn’t too bad and both drivers were able to deliver what was required.

“We were a little unlucky with the safety car as we had opted to run a long middle stint on the soft tyres with both cars and shortly after we’d gone on to the soft Sebastian Vettel had his crash.

“We did struggle on the restart relative to cars on fresher tyres but we we’re able to make places at the end thanks to the retirements of others.

“We’re looking forward to heading to Enstone’s and Viry’s adopted home race at Silverstone.”

Magnussen said: “Both cars were there at the end which wasn’t the same for a few teams. The five second penalty was fair enough as I did move more than once and you’re not allowed to do that.

“Equally I didn’t know which way he was looking to try to pass and sometimes it’s difficult to make the right call.

“Now we’re looking forward to Silverstone, which is pretty much my home track.”

Palmer added: “I’m quite happy with the race. We just needed that little bit of extra luck and we could have been right there within the points.

“The car was okay, it felt better than in the last round and this was probably one of my strongest races personally.

“I’ve been feeling stronger and stronger over the last few races and knowing we could have done well makes me hopeful for points at the next round at Silverstone.”