Friday: Lotus and Grosjean in great distress in Austria
The Lotus drivers, like many, suffered on the Spielberg track, as they fell victim to the more than shaky handling of their E22.
Pastor Maldonado (No. 13) – 17th and 15th
The Venezuelan believes that the day has gotten better and better for Lotus: « We worked methodically today, and with the track improving, we found a bit more rhythm throughout the day. »
But this progress was hindered by issues with the Renault V6 hybrid block: « Unfortunately, we encountered a problem with the power unit this afternoon, which did not allow us to fully execute our program as we had planned. We must investigate and resolve each of the problems encountered today; analyze all the data to be ready for Saturday. »
Romain Grosjean (No. 8) – 16th and 19th
For a first outing on the Red Bull Ring, the Franco-Swiss and his E22 were not in high spirits despite significant work: « We did a lot of work, completed 74 laps, however it is fair to say that we struggled. I wasn’t happy with the car’s handling and setup, but we will work hard to address these different areas. It was good to learn that the pace on long stints was more solid, we just need to unlock the pace for qualifying. »
