Grosjean: Lotus F1 Team more comfortable in the dry

Romain Grosjean could certainly have claimed a better place on the Sepang grid, the Frenchman having only taken 11th place after being trapped by the rain at the end of Q2. The stable ofenstone had chosen to send its driver off at the end of the session, but a failure of the radar screens prevented the team from predicting the arrival of the fatal downpour for the 2011 GP2 Series champion. ?In retrospect, we should have not taken the risk, but it?s always a difficult choice. On my launch lap with the new tires, I already saw a wall of water splashes and I was unable to complete a flying lap. My attempt with the broken tires was simply not fast enough to get me through to Q3. The positive aspect is that I will be able to start with new tires tomorrow, so we will have to be very careful about the strategy. »

However, the teams must anticipate different scenarios tomorrow at Sepang. The particularly changeable conditions in Malaysia force teams to prepare for possible showers. After testing the E21 in mixed conditions during free practice, Romain Grosjean hopes to benefit from dry weather tomorrow. “We've changed quite a few things since yesterday and ultimately it's what we think is best from a tuning point of view. We made some notable changes during the evening and during Free Session 3, now it's a matter of seeing how well it will work tomorrow and beyond. Normally the car performs well on long stints. Of course, the weather can always bring surprises. Apparently, we lack a little support in the rain, so a race in the dry would suit us better. We have plenty of new dry tires in reserve if this is the case. A race in the rain can always offer surprises and at the start of the season, you have to seize every opportunity that presents itself. »