West Sussex GP2 driver Jolyon Palmer is aiming to get his season off to a flying start this weekend by targeting strong results during the opening rounds of the season in Malaysia.

Jolyon, who lives in Southwater, will contest his second full season of the F1 feeder series this year with the iSport team, following a promising rookie campaign in 2011 with Arden. Racing on the same bill as the Formula One World Championship, Jolyon joins a field of 26 top international drivers for rounds one and two on 24/25 March at the Sepang circuit.  

The 21-year-old, who ended last year by securing a superb maiden podium at the GP2 Finals event in Abu Dhabi, has been preparing for the new season with a rigorous training and testing regime. Jolyon has completed six days of testing in Jerez and Barcelona this year, where he impressed against a highly competitive field to finish fifth and ninth fastest overall respectively.

Jolyon commented: "I'm look forward to Malaysia this weekend. The track looks interesting with lots of overtaking opportunities and I think tyre management could be key, which we have been strong on in winter testing so I'm hopeful of good results.

"I'm expecting a long, physical race as temperatures and humidity are extremely high and we are racing in the middle of the day but I hope to use this to my advantage and benefit from all my hours of training over the winter. I'm confident of a good performance and kick-starting the season with some strong results."

Full coverage of Jolyon's opening rounds from Malaysia, including live timing, will be available on his official website www.jolyonpalmer.com. Both GP2 races will be screened live in the UK on the Sky Sports F1 channel.