Friday: Another Catastrophic Day for Lotus and Grosjean
Another tough day for Lotus as Romain Grosjean could only complete 14 laps. For Pastor Maldonado, the day was even worse as, due to a turbo issue after just two laps in FP1, he could not participate in the rest of the day.
Romain Grosjean (No. 8) – no time and 17th
No laps during the first free practice, 14 laps during the second free practice, the Frenchman’s day wasn’t very productive: « We need to work and try to solve all our problems. We’re focusing on each issue we encounter. This morning, we couldn’t do any laps and this afternoon, we burned a cable which stopped the gearbox. »
Without losing his temper excessively, driver No. 8 did not hide his frustration when getting out of his car: “Obviously, I didn’t come out with a smile when my car stopped on the track and it’s not working, and you swear a little in your head!” Nevertheless, he remains confident and takes it in stride: “But, as I said before, it’s only the second race of the season and we knew we would start far behind. We are going to get where we want to be.”
Pastor Maldonado (no.13) – no time
For the Venezuelan, the day was even worse since he couldn’t even complete a single timed lap due to a turbo failure. He hopes to at least experience the Sepang circuit tomorrow: « Our problems were focused on the hybrid power unit. I hope we will have everything fixed for tomorrow and that we will be able to do enough during FP3 and qualifying. »
He maintains his determination and does not want to let himself be brought down: « He is important for the team and it is important for me to be able to test the car and make some progress, as this was not the case during the first race. It’s hard because each time we expect to be better and better. We have worked so hard, the mechanics, the engineers, together with Renault Sport. We just have to try to be strong enough to accept when we have a problem and as soon as everything is fixed, be ready to go out and attack immediately. »
