Haas: Grosjean in difficulty once night falls
The Haas drivers still have work to do to perfect the balance of their car on the Abu Dhabi track. Indeed, once night falls, the behavior of the American car becomes problematic. And it is under these conditions that the qualifying and the race will take place.
The sessions follow one another but are not the same for Romain Grosjean on the Yas Marina track. With no stakes other than trying to secure the 6th place in the Constructors’ Championship, the Haas drivers, and particularly the Frenchman, faced the worst difficulties in finding the balance of their car once night fell.
« The morning session was good and the afternoon one not at all. » grumbled the Frenchman at the end of the day. « We had difficulties getting everything to work once night fell. Additionally, I had an electrical problem that stopped my day. It was clearly not ideal during FP2, which was the only session resembling the conditions we’ll have in qualifying and the race. We will do our best to find solutions tomorrow. » Grosjean further explained.
For Magnussen, on the other hand, the day was more productive with a quite decent number of laps completed according to the Dane: « It was quite a good day with a fair amount of laps. We still have a little bit of work to do, especially when the sun sets, but we can find a bit more pace for qualifying. »
This last Grand Prix of the season was also one of the last opportunities to see Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel of the Haas. The Italian, who is applying for a seat at Sauber for 2018, seemed quite satisfied with his 18th place, 0.7 seconds behind Grosjean in FP1: « First of all, I would like to thank Haas and also Ferrari for giving me the opportunity to do these Friday sessions. It was a last good session for me. I hope the team is happy with my work, as it’s my first goal when I get in the car. » concluded the Italian.
