(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000

Родился: 07.11.1956 Льюисхем, Лондон Сезонов в Ф1: 7 Лет в Ф1: 7 Гран При: 88 Старты: 82* *не стартовал: 7 Победы: - подряд: Подиумы: - подряд: Поул-позиции: - подряд: Первый ряд: - подряд: Быстрые круги: 1 - подряд: Лучший финиш: 4 Лучший старт: 9 Дубли: Хет-трики: Лидирование старт/финиш: Большие шлемы: Круги: 3649 - лидирования: Километры: 16598.94 - лидирования: Очки: 14 - за один сезон: 7 - подряд: 2

Ф1: 1983-1989

Год	Команда	Шасси
1983	TAG Williams Racing Team	Williams FW08C
1984	Skoal Bandit Formula 1 Team	RAM 01
		RAM 02
1985	West Zakspeed Racing	Zakspeed 841
1986	West Zakspeed Racing	Zakspeed 861
1987	Data General Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell DG016
1988	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell 017
1989	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell 017B
		Tyrrell 018

A brilliant early career for Palmer failed to bring the fully competitive Grand Prix car his efforts had so obviously merited, and so another talent was never truly tested at the highest level.

Palmer's racing career took a back seat while he qualified as a doctor, but early races with a van Diemen in 1979 and 1980 brought him a drive with Dick Bennetts' crack Formula 3 team for 1981. In a superb year, Jonathan took seven pole positions and eight wins and set ten fastest laps to win the Marlboro F3 championship by a large margin from his rivals. A move into Formula 2 with the Ralt team brought him back down to earth with a jolt as they struggled to find a competitive set-up, but it was a different story in 1983 when, with the full attention of Honda, Jonathan and his team-mate Mike Thackwell dominated proceedings, Palmer winning six of the 12 rounds (five of them in a row at the end of the season) with a display of brilliant driving backed by much planning and hard work behind the scenes.

After a drive for Williams in the 1983 European GP, Palmer found himself first with the RAM team, then the ambitious but overstretched Zakspeed outfit, struggling even to gain sight of a top-six finish. Luckily he kept his competitive edge sharpened in sports cars; driving a Richard Lloyd Porsche, he won at Brands Hatch in 1984 with Jan Lammers and finished second at Le Mans in 1985, and in 1987 he won the Norisring race with Baldi in Brun's Porsche.

By now Palmer was at the start of a three-year association with Tyrrell. The first two years, spent struggling with a Cosworth against the turbo brigade, found him picking up the crumbs, but some excellent drives brought hard-earned points for the team and Jonathan won the Jim Clark Trophy for top non-turbo driver in 1987. A competitive new chassis allowed Palmer to take a splendid fifth at Imola in 1989, but his form sagged after the arrival of Jean Alesi, who stole the show. The season's finale saw a despondent Jonathan fail to qualify, and his Grand Prix career was over.

In 1990 he acted as a test driver for McLaren-Honda and returned to competition in sports cars with a Porsche 962, but after the sudden death of James Hunt the personable and ever-talkative Palmer moved into a commentary role for BBC TV.

Jonathan has recently set up his own ultra-professional junior single-seater series, Formula Palmer Audi. At a realistic cost the identically prepared cars offer up-and-coming young drivers the chance to show their skills as they seek to make their way in the sport.

(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000