Sunday: Grosjean and Lotus F1 not fast enough for the top 10
No points for the Lotus F1 team at this British Grand Prix: Romain Grosjean found himself at the back of the pack after a failed initial start, while Pastor Maldonado retired towards the end of the race.
Romain Grosjean (No. 8) – 12th
The Frenchman’s start was not ideal as he was quickly relegated to the back of the pack, which allowed him to avoid Räikkönen’s accident: « It was a difficult start for me. I had an electrical problem that limited the power, but despite that, we had a good first lap. I avoided the accident with Kimi, but my visor was damaged by some debris. The restart went very well for me and the car was good. Until the end of the race, with the medium tires, our pace was much better. We were close to the points but started too far back on the grid. »
Pastor Maldonado (No. 13) – 17th
For the Venezuelan, the power issue occurred during the second start: « My first start was good, but after the restart, we struggled with power, so I couldn’t fight with the cars around me. I still pushed as much as possible, but making progress was difficult. »
The turning point of the race might have been the collision with Gutierrez’s Sauber: « There was contact with Esteban Gutierrez, which I was told resulted in a very spectacular incident, but in the car, it ended rather quickly and we continued the race. We are not sure if it caused my retirement; the rear wing was moving more than usual, clearly, so we do not yet know if there was any other damage. »
