Romain Grosjean: “We deserved better”

On a track that brought back good memories (3rd place in 2013 with Lotus F1 Team), Romain Grosjean had high hopes for this Sunday's race after promising qualifying yesterday.

Eighth on the grid after qualifying, the Frenchman from the team Haas F1 Team finally started from seventh position after the penalty imposed on Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) for a gearbox change.

Despite this favorable position, the former pilot Renault believes he lost a lot in the first rounds of the event. “We struggled on the first stint with a “green” track, and with the soft tires we had a lot of graining, confesses Grosjean. But then the car flew. It was really good. I was able to make some good overtakes. »

Finally overtaken by the Williams of Massa and Bottas for the points, the Frenchman did not hide his disillusionment after the finish. « I don't think I've ever been as frustrated at the end of a race as I am today.

We deserved better. With the pace of the car, I was much faster than the Williams. We just misanticipated the lifespan of hard tires. We could have stopped earlier for the last stint, but overall the pace was incredible.

This shows a lot of promise for the future. I'm optimistic with these updates and the pace we had in the car. » Grosjean was notably able to evolve with the front wing revised and corrected by the Haas technical department, which will compete at home on October 23 in Austin, Texas.

Find the full report and analysis of the Japanese Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Suzuka, in issue 2084 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.