FP1 & FP2 - US GP report: Lotus Mercedes

Extreme rain at the Circuit of the Americas meant a cancelled FP2 after a disrupted FP1 to open the United States Grand Prix. Both Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean took to their cars for FP1, however a gearbox issue meant no timed laps for Pastor. The morning rain meant only a limited programme for Romain’s time in the car.

Romain Grosjean

“It didn’t feel too bad out on track, especially with a fresh set of intermediates, however there wasn’t much point in completing a lot of laps. The main thing I learnt was that when they say everything is bigger in Texas they mean it; especially with the rain!”

Pastor Maldonado

“I only managed an installation lap today so it wasn’t the busiest day I’ve ever had at the track. We had a gearbox issue as soon as I was on track so I didn’t even set a lap time. The rain was pretty impressive, but it’s not what you want when you want to be refining the set-up of the car and collecting data. It’s the same for everyone and we’ll be busy tomorrow if the weather improves.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director

“Today was a washout. Pastor suffered from a minor gearbox issue which we have fixed and Romain only completed a handful of laps in FP1. For FP2 we watched the skies and listened to the rain. We’re closely monitoring the weather forecasts for the rest of the weekend.”