Saturday: Räikkönen and Lotus in the doldrums in Singapore
Romain Grosjean will start the Singapore Grand Prix from 8th position on the grid, while Kimi Räikkönen will begin from 12th place, after qualifying in the heat at the Marina Bay circuit. According to the team, however, these results do not do justice to the significant improvements in the E20's performance since last night, highlighted by Romain's fastest time in Q1 and his fourth place in Q2.
Romain Grosjean – 15th and 8th:
The result is not as good as we wanted. But this circuit is very hard to understand and I struggled to find all the grip this weekend. So, after all, it’s good to have made it to Q3. We were optimistic after Q1 and Q2, but in the final part, everything didn’t come together as we wanted. I pushed a bit too hard in my last flying lap. I felt comfortable in the car but it wasn’t good for my time and at a slightly critical moment, I lost a lot of time. It was close, but I think I didn’t hit the wall. I’ll have to check if the colored strip on the tire is still there!
Kimi Räikkönen – 5th and 12th:
« Overall, the car performed much better than yesterday. With the used tires, I was fast, but oddly, I didn’t find enough grip with the new ones in the second session, so I was slower. Obviously, I wanted better than a 12th place. Apparently, we are not fast enough to fight with the leaders here. But definitely, the car is better than that. We will see what we can do in the race. »
[From the official Lotus press release]
