Friday: Grosjean Impresses Lotus Renault GP
The three Lotus Renault GP drivers were involved during this first day of free practice as Romain Grosjean lined up alongside Vitaly Petrov during the first session. He was then replaced by Bruno Senna in the R31 for the second session of the day.
Vitaly Petrov – 13th and 13th:
« Tough day for us. Especially for the motor skills, which means we are not in the rhythm. We must look at what can be improved tonight to get back to the front. One thing was particularly evident today, the drop in temperature between the first and second session. For a driver, it’s very interesting every time you leave the pit because the sun sets and it’s night for the last stint. We absolutely want to do better tomorrow, shift into high gear, and consistently perform at a better level than today. »
Bruno Senna – Non-participation and 15th:
« Even though I only did one session, I was still able to accomplish a good number of laps. I believe that our concerns about our performance could be confirmed. We need to work hard to see what we can improve to be faster tomorrow. Qualifying will undoubtedly be very difficult for us, but we must do our best and take advantage of any opportunity if it arises. I also used the experimental Pirelli tires today, they seem more durable than the current soft ones so it was interesting to compare them. »
Romain Grosjean – 12th and Did Not Participate
« I feel like a child on Christmas Day! First of all, it was fantastic to get back into an F1, the sensation is just enormous. I tried to improve lap after lap. We tested different things on the car, without disrupting the team’s program, which is the most important. I believe we brought a few small ideas for the afternoon. The balance of the car was as we expected. We knew we weren’t fantastic in the slow sections, so we tried some different little things. The medium tires caused us some difficulties, but the experimental softs were better in terms of degradation. It is always difficult to know what to expect when switching from one type of tire to another. Finally, I hope my feedback was somewhat useful for the rest of the weekend. »
Alan Permane, Track Operations Director:
The first session of Vitaly was disrupted by an issue related to the new specification of his steering, a system we are evaluating for next year.
Romain made an impression during his first session with the team. He quickly got the measure of the car and was very quickly up to speed, setting a fastest lap of 1:42.685, which earned him 12th place. Romain drove with both soft and medium tires, which gave him very valuable track time for his season debut.
At the end of the first session, the failure of an external electrical component caused an ignition problem on Vitaly’s car. A minor issue, in fact, and with no consequence, as he continued with the same engine in the second session.
[From the official Lotus Renault GP press release]
