Romain Grosjean seeks “a connection” with his car

Unlike his teammate Kimi Räikkönen, Romain Grosjean is having a tricky start to the season aboard his Lotus E21. Barely the page of the Chinese Grand Prix turned, where the Frenchman had to be content with?a ninth position after a complicated race, the pilot is focused on Bahrain with the aim of “create a connection with your car”. “I would be lying if I said the car is exactly how I want it”, announces Romain Grosjean before entering the fourth Grand Prix of the season. “It's more of an adventure to define the settings and get the right sensations that I'm looking for. It?s very frustrating for a driver, you want a car that obeys the finger and the eye constantly. Of course, we are not the only team to have problems at this stage of the season, but we really want to resolve them as soon as possible. I spend a lot of time with my engineers and we work very hard to progress”, he explains.

The Lotus driver also had a word for the Sakhir track, which he particularly appreciates for having been the scene of his first podium in Formula 1, last year. “It's a circuit that I knew before Formula 1 and it has the characteristics that I like: heavy braking, good changes of direction with the double left in the middle of the track and it goes pleasantly”, explains the native of Geneva. “Last year we had a good balance and we were able to make the E20 gentle on its tires. The E21 has the same feature, so let's hope history repeats itself. The priority is to find that connection with the car. I want to fight for podiums and perform as well as last year. I hope to achieve this soon. Bahrain would be the ideal place to start scoring big points again and even get back on the podium. We were successful there last year and there is no reason why we should not be again this year?, concludes Romain Grosjean, who is also celebrating his 27th birthday on Wednesday April 17.