Grosjean sure Spa will suit Lotus

Spa-Francorchamps. What does this name make you think?

What a fabulous race circuit! Spa as we all know is one of the best tracks we go to, if not the best of them all. As a driver it is like a dream circuit with elevation change, quick corners, medium speed technical corners and some good straights for overtaking. It’s a circuit with a soul. I always enjoy racing here, as do most of the drivers. What I find memorable about Spa is not only the track but also the beautiful surroundings in the Ardennes forest. From the cockpit you get a very real sense of being at a living, breathing track at Spa and the fans are really close to the action. You can almost smell the frites!

How much of a challenge is Spa-Francorchamps as a driver?

It’s a great track as there’s so much to think about over a lap. That’s true if you’re on a qualifying lap trying to maximise your speed at every point, or in a race where you’re either defending or attacking, and maybe both over the course of a lap. It’s the type of place where the differences between cars can be highlighted and sometimes you see a car go really well here – let’s hope that’s our car this season!

What’s the key to a good result at Spa?

You need good grunt from the engine and a well set-up and forgiving car. We can definitely deliver on both those counts so it’s going to be interesting to see how we fare against our rivals. You also need an element of luck sometimes as the weather in the Ardennes can present a challenge. It’s almost a cliché to talk about the possibility of rain on one part of the track when it’s dry on another, but this can happen. If it happens during qualifying, it’s a massive challenge to make the right call with timing for your lap. If it happens during the race, then the call of when to pit and change your tyres for wet weather ones or back to slicks has a massive impact as it’s a long, long, long lap if you’re at Spa on the wrong rubber.

What memories do you have of the track?

I won in the GP2 Series in 2008 which was a fabulous feeling and I’ve certainly missed the Spa podium since then. I’ve always had good pace but my best result in F1 so far there is P8. I don’t see why we can’t improve on that this year.

How have you been spending the summer shutdown?

Mainly relaxing with my family. It’s great having the shutdown as it’s a valuable time in the season to allow us all to recharge our batteries. We’ve got just two European races left then we’re back to the long-haul and jet-lag so to get this time to relax mentally and physically is very beneficial. My son Sacha celebrated his second birthday and I’ve been able to have a great time with all of my family at the beach so I’m in very good condition heading to Spa.

Talk us through your Hungarian Grand Prix.

The thing about the summer shutdown and the break we get is that when you come back, the last race seems so long ago, even if it was just a few weeks ago. Fortunately we did all our debriefs after the race otherwise I think I’d struggle! It was an interesting race and we worked so well as a team to score a strong result after a poor start and even a penalty. It was quite a memorable race!

Do you think Spa offers a good opportunity for you and the team?

I think the circuit could well play to some of the strengths we have in the car and I’m certainly ready for more points. Me and the team will be doing everything we can to go well and get the strongest result possible, after all that’s what we’re here to do!