Palmer heads to Sochi with title in his sight

The Southwater driver can be crowned the first British champion of the F1-supporting GP2 Series since Lewis Hamilton, with a significant points haul over Felipe Nasr over the two days.

Palmer has set a GP2 record by scoring points in every race so far this year, with three wins and seven other top-three placings.

He holds a 41-point lead with four races remaining, meaning Palmer needs to score eight more points than Nasr to be crowned champion this weekend.

Palmer remained coy on the title and said: “I’m looking forward to my first trip to Russia and driving a new track in Sochi.

“The track will be new for everyone so getting up to speed will be important in the free practice session.

“At the moment I don’t know what to expect so I’m looking forward to getting out there to find out.”

Palmer’s most-recent win came last time out at Monza in Italy, where after being relegated to the back of the grid after a post-qualifying technicality, he fought back to take eighth place in race one, giving him pole for race two, which he dominated.