Grosjean – Lotus: “If I make it to the finish, I will be in the points”

Romain Grosjean will face a significant challenge during the first practice sessions in Melbourne: hoping to achieve a result with a car that has yet to prove itself, both in terms of performance and reliability. It’s a delicate situation for the British team, which could be relegated to a supporting role in the Australian Grand Prix after two seasons in the spotlight on the podiums. The Geneva-born driver refuses to accept this: « We must try to score points. Just being here to race is fine, but that’s not what we want. »

Comments that are reminiscent of the radical ones made on Canal+ and broadcast in the program Les Spécialistes F1 on March 5th: « Reliability will be important, but if it’s to be reliable and five seconds off the times, no thank you. I prefer that we are ahead, even if it breaks down before the end of the race, even though for now there are no links to be made yet between performance and reliability. »

The idea of driving at a slower pace to try to reach the finish does not seem to be relevant, as he told Autosport: « We haven’t found anything. It is not related to power. And no one wants to race with half the electrical power you have because you would lose five seconds per lap. » This season, unlike previous ones, the electric power supply will be equivalent to 160 horsepower for 33 seconds per lap (compared to 80 horsepower for 6 seconds until 2013).

The French want to maintain their optimism despite a more than delicate context: « We are not in an excellent situation, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. If we can save as many points as possible early in the season, then we can come back. »

For him, finishing the Australian Grand Prix would be a victory: “I’m going to Melbourne to score points, more if possible. […] If I finish in Australia, I’m sure I’ll be in the points,” he predicted, forecasting eight cars remaining at the end of the 57 laps of the Albert Park circuit.

« It won’t be pretty, but that’s the situation we’re facing, » he admits. « All we can do is try to be as good as we can until the Grand Prix and find out what it’s like to drive at 300km/h with 100kg of fuel. »

In his interview for Canal+, the Franco-Swiss explained that the task list for the Enstone team remained extensive: « We know that no one is 100% ready. It’s true that we are even less so than others. We haven’t done any start, qualifying, or race simulations, but the mindset is still quite good. » A situation that could prove problematic when around twenty cars line up on the grid on Sunday, March 16, at around 7 a.m., French time.