The struggles of Jolyon Palmer...

The struggles of Jolyon Palmer to secure a test driver role, let alone a full race drive in F1 for 2015, despite being the newly crowned GP2 champion, tells you all you need to know about the F1 of today. Driving talent is not the defining factor on who gets to drive at what most would consider the pinnacle of motorsport. Thrown in the mix is obviously sponsorship money / commercial backers as well as the management team of a driver and their existing connections in the world of F1.

I strongly believe another key factor that is also a major consideration that never gets mentioned, and also helps explain why Jolyon has so far been unsuccessful in gaining a role in F1 whilst some of his peers from GP2 have made it into F1, is because of his nationality. Jolyon is British and we already have British former and current F1 world champions on the grid, in the form of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Formula 1 is a huge commercial machine whose ambition is to deliver a spectacle to the largest possible audience and thus maximize its returns. Why else would a F1 track be built in the cricket loving India or the politically sensitive Turkey?

Form on this matter can be found in previous champions such as Michael Schumacher, who was the first German F1 World Champion and ensured the viewing of a whole new nation after his success and Fernando Alonso, who convinced the motor bike loving Spanish to convert en masse to supporting their Champion. Jolyon will not help further the reach of F1 geographically and thus boost audience numbers and race ticket purchases and I believe this ensures that he will not get the ultimate nod from Bernie and his fellow F1 management (private equity group CVC) from giving Jolyon the nod. May be in a year or two when Button retires and Jolyon is still around he will be taken on but I doubt beforehand.

My bet would be that with all the tracks being built in recent years in the Middle East, that a driver with a Muslim descent is much more on the top of F1's commercial management's most wanted list (e.g. Enaam Ahmed).

So what can Jolyon do in the interim?? I would say he needs to take every opportunity possible to challenge and take on the more established and famous drivers in some form of competition, where the playing field is leveled and he can display his talent by hopefully beating them and thus showing F1's mistake in not taking him on.  One such opportunity that came up recently , the Race of Champions, did not turn out as hoped however, despite Jolyon putting on good performances against more experienced competitors (link here).

I would lastly say that I really would love to see Jolyon in F1 and wish him the best of luck. His overtaking prowess alone warrants a chance in F1 and I believe that as the reigning GP2 Champ, F1 is exactly where he should be.