Grosjean: A day in hell in Melbourne

Romain Grosjean must be patient, Lotus F1 Team clearly not looking ready to start the season this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. While his teammate Pastor Maldonado was only able to complete two installation laps, the Frenchman was not even able to take to the track during the first session. The E22 of the Tricolore suffered consecutively from an oil leak on the gearbox and a software problem before a broken suspension put an end to its day at the end of the second session, the former GP2 Series champion who was unable to avoid contact with the wall.

“It’s hard to drive in these conditions.”, recognized the Lotus driver in the Melbourne paddock after having completed only 12 laps this afternoon and signed the penultimate time more than four seconds behind the reference. “There are many things we need to learn. We are still far from what we are aiming for and we will try to test several things tomorrow. We did not ride in qualifying configuration. With a little less fuel plus a few extra things, we should be moving towards the middle of the pack. »

Lotus F1 Team will have difficulty getting things back on track this weekend since the teams will only have one hour of testing before starting qualifying. “We have thousands of things to test on the car, things that broke that shouldn’t have. Everything takes a little more time. We have made changes, but nothing essential because some things can no longer be changed. I don't know all the details, but I know we have problems. This is the price to pay for not having driven enough during winter testing. »

The final free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix will take place from 4 a.m. French time and can be followed live on AUTOhebdo.fr. Discover the photos of the tests on this link.