Palmer on Leclerc's spin: 'Proof why drivers were cautious'

Jolyon Palmer is impressed with the drivers after the Imola Grand Prix. The Brit expected more incidents in the wet conditions after the chaos on Friday, but in the end Charles Leclerc was the only driver to lose control excluding the opening lap of the race.

No fewer than five red flags were caused on a wet track during Friday's qualifying session in Imola. In Q2, it was Carlos Sainz among others who parked his car in the wall, while Lando Norris crashed during the final phase of Q3.

On Sunday, rained again and the drivers had to start the race on intermediate tyres. The track slowly dried up, allowing the drivers to change to slicks, but the conditions remained tricky. Palmer was therefore surprised there were not more incidents.

"We barely saw any lock-ups – just a few at the chicane where you can get away with it more easily. We come to expect few mistakes from the best drivers of the world, but when the damp circuit had thrown up so many thrills and spills on Friday, it was surprising Charles Leclerc’s spin was the only major incident of note after Lap 1", he wrote in his column for F1.com.

On the opening lap, Sainz was wiped out by Daniel Ricciardo, while Mick Schumacher drove into Fernando Alonso's car. It was clear that the remaining drivers remained cautious during the race. "Leclerc’s incident was probably the perfect demonstration of why drivers in general erred on the side of caution on Sunday. He demonstrated the fine line everybody faced between success and failure in those conditions."