Palmer recorded his best result since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as he came home in 12th in Austria before competing in his maiden home Grand Prix at Silverstone. That ended in disappointment as he suffered a suspected gearbox problem which led to his retirement on lap 38, but he produced a career-best drive next time out in the Hungarian Grand Prix as he narrowly missed out on a maiden points scoring finish in Formula 1, finishing 12th. An opening lap clash ended his German Grand Prix before he led the Renault charge at Spa-Francorchamps in the Belgian Grand Prix, coming home in 15th. Palmer's Italian Grand Prix came to a premature end as he once again led the way for the French manufacturer, as Sauber's Felipe Nasr hit the Brit and eventually forced his retirement from the race on safety grounds.