Jolyon Palmer would rather be down the pub in Clapham than in Monaco’s fast lane

Jolyon Palmer is the Formula One driver you might find jogging around Clapham Common, spending an evening in his local London pub or else embroiled in a game of five-a-side football in the capital.

A polar opposite to Lewis Hamilton and the other drivers on the grid for the 2017 season, Palmer has eschewed the traditional Monaco pad of an F1 star and a life in the Principality for a flat in the heart of London.

“For starters, it’s a hell of a lot easier to get to Enstone from London than Monaco,” he says of his regular trips to Renault’s Oxfordshire headquarters.

So, Palmer could be on your doorstep should you live in the Clapham area but he’s far more under the radar than, say, Hamilton, and has not got to the stage of being mobbed in his local supermarket just yet.

“It hasn’t got to a hood-up and sunglasses-on cover-up so far,” he says light-heartedly in a break from the final pre-season testing session in Barcelona. “I get spotted from time to time but it’s just London’s the place for me.”

He has lived there for a year and a half, sharing a flat with his sister, Emily.

“I love London,” he says. “It’s just a nice, fun place. I’ve got a lot of friends here and it’s far more important for me to be able to do what I like to do when I’m not racing.

“It takes so much time and commitment. Generally in London I just catch up with mates, I like to play football when I can and going to the pub,” before adding, pointedly “although not drinking but I go to the pub nonetheless.”

Palmer, whose season begins in Australia this weekend, knows he will not be vying with Hamilton for the world title this year but he continues the rich history of Britain having at least two F1 drivers on the grid — never in the sport’s history has GB had fewer than two drivers among the season starters.

Not that he doesn’t dare to dream: “I remember Damon Hill winning the world title in 1996 and cheering him on. We’ve had some great British drivers and great champions. Of course I dream of being the next one.”

The 26-year-old has lived and breathed F1 in a sense all his life, having been born two years after his father, Jonathan, ended his six years in the sport. His father had 83 starts and now acts as the manager for his son.

Of the father-son relationship, the Renault driver says: “In terms of helping me drive the car and tips, his career in F1 was obviously a long time ago so he’s quite far removed from that. But it’s hugely helpful that he understands how the world of Formula One works, and he understands the pressures involved. We’re a good unit together.”

Both father and son are all too aware that an F1 career can end quickly.Almost from the moment Palmer Jr had made it onto the grid, his place in the team seemed under threat with Nico Hulkenberg signed for 2017, leaving him in a battle for one seat between him and Kevin Magnussen.

In the end, Palmer made a good name for himself to hold onto the drive, while Magnussen joined Haas.

“Obviously to race in F1 last year was a dream come true,” says Palmer. “So few people manage to achieve that and there were times I didn’t think I’d manage it.

“But the other side was getting there and to be struggling with the car and then it was quite tense with Nico signed and having to show what I could do.

“That brought big pressure but I just didn’t let it get to me and just focused on what I could do in the car. So to get another year was obviously a big relief.”

A year on and there is optimism at the team. There is a target of top five in the constructors’ championship, so Palmer knows he needs to be aiming for the third qualifying session and finishing in the points to achieve that ambition.

“I made some rookie mistakes last year but all I’ve been trying to do is control what I can,” he says. “Obviously there’s a hell of a lot you can’t control. But the feeling’s good going to Australia.”