Grosjean in agony with his Haas in Sochi

Romain Grosjean is still in great difficulty with his Haas VF17 in Sochi. The Haas driver was the slowest in Q1, even if the yellow flag caused by the exit of Jolyon Palmer (Renault) prevented him from completing his last attempt.

“Even without the yellow flag, I couldn’t hope for a place in Q2. Maybe I could have aimed for 16th or 17th place at best, commented Romain Grosjean. It's a weekend that's definitely not going well for us. The car hasn't suited me since the first lap. There's something I'm not feeling and it's not working as expected. The qualifications only confirmed our problems. We have changed many things, but we still haven't found the cause of these problems. »

Without hope?

Romain Grosjean is therefore not optimistic for the rest of the weekend, unless Haas F1 Team does not put its finger on the origin of the problem.

“If we can't do that, it's not even worth taking part in the race. There is nothing to hope for as it stands, recognized Romain Grosjean. I was 2s behind my teammate's times (Kevin Magnussen) in the long relays during the tests the day before, it's amazing. I'm convinced something is wrong. I have to brake earlier, the car doesn't turn, I have to accelerate again later. In short, I waste time everywhere. I find an unpredictable car like it was at one point last year. »

“It took us three Grands Prix last year to realize that a front suspension was not attached to the chassis. So the data doesn’t always show everything. However, I don't think the chassis is to blame because it's been the same since the start of the year. I have already asked that we completely disassemble the car to identify the problem and I think the team will accept because we are too penalized”, specified Romain Grosjean.

The origin of the problem is all the more complicated to find as his teammate Kevin Magnussen does not seem to suffer from the same problem since he managed to qualify in 14th place.