More Friday outings for Palmer at Lotus

Lotus reserve driver Jolyon Palmer has confirmed that he will take part in FP1 at all the remaining European Grands Prix this season, beginning next weekend in Austria.

The reigning GP2 champion, who has already participated in opening practice in China, Bahrain and Spain, will also take part in the two-day post-race test in Spielberg for the Enstone team.

“I’m really looking forward to driving the E23 again in FP1 and then at the in-season test in Austria especially after not having been in the cockpit these past couple of races,” Palmer told Lotus’s official site.

“The pace of the car looked very strong in Montreal so the car has come on quite well since the last in-season testing I did in Barcelona. It’ll be good for me to do some more mileage and be in a more competitive car since the last time I drove it.”

Despite his lack of recent cockpit time, Palmer said he was pleased by the progress made with the E23 Hybrid in recent weeks, which culminated in Lotus’s first double points finish of the year in Canada.

“The E23 looked strong on the Friday straight out of the box. Maybe on the outside some might have thought that we were running quite low on fuel and then in qualifying we surprised everyone. The pace in the race itself could have been a little bit better but definitely the overall pace of the car is strong and shows a big step. Hopefully we can keep up the good work and make more progress these upcoming races.”

Lotus have scored a total of 23 points this season, putting them fifth in the standings just two points ahead of Sauber.