Q&A with Romain Grosjean - We were expecting a bit more

P7 on the grid may sound like a solid result at another previously unknown circuit for Romain, but as always the Flying Frenchman was hoping for more. We caught up with the man himself to talk tricky tracks, changeable conditions, and last gasp runs…

Romain, through to Q3 again yesterday afternoon; how satisfied are you with that performance?

I guess we’re satisfied but to be honest we were expecting a bit more. The car felt pretty strong but my last run could have been better, which is a shame. Having said that, being in P7 on the grid when we’ve had a difficult day is not so bad. The race is long, so let’s see what we can do there. Last time I started in P7 we ended up on the podium, so let’s hope it can happen again today!

How much of an effect do you think the different conditions over the weekend so far have had?

This is a tricky circuit to get right, and the big variation between conditions on Friday and Saturday didn’t help. The warmer temperatures we saw yesterday definitely suited us more but not quite as well as we thought. It’s looking like being even warmer today and our car has been quite easy on tyres so far this season, so hopefully that could make the difference.

It was very close throughout the session and you put in a good lap under pressure right at the end to make the top 10; does that give you a boost?

It’s a good feeling for sure. There’s a lot of pressure when you only have one lap to deliver and you can’t afford to make any mistakes. This is one of the things I love about racing; that adrenaline you get when you know it’s all or nothing. When you’re a competitive person, you enjoy the challenge!

Source: www.lotusf1team.com