Romain Grosjean has learned patience

If Valtteri Bottas was at the center of discussions for a move to Ferrari, the Scuderia consulted other drivers before deciding to keep Kimi Räikkönen for 2016. As such, Romain Grosjean acknowledged during a press briefing at Spa-Francorchamps that his manager had discussions with the Scuderia: “The paddock is small. So everyone talks all the time. They are not very far.”

But the 2011 GP2 champion knows he has to face competition from a number of young drivers who want to be able to benefit from the best possible equipment: “There is a group of young drivers who really want to have a winning car. Ricciardo won last year. Bottas, Hülkenberg, and I really want to go somewhere where we can win races. That’s why we love this sport. This is where we want to be, and this is what we want to do.”

Nevertheless, he now knows that sometimes patience is required to achieve what he wants: « I learned that to win a race, you have to be patient, not put everything at stake at the first turn. Maybe it’s the same for winning a world title. » Such a comment couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time than at the start of the Spa-Francorchamps weekend, which was the scene of the famous first-turn crash in 2012 that earned him a one-race suspension.

He also knows that he will have to be patient about the future of his team, Lotus, which is at the center of rumors of a takeover by Renault. This could only be a good thing for him, who started in F1 under the banner of the Losange: « I don’t hide that if Renault buys the team, it will be great to be a French driver in a French team. I know there are good discussions taking place, but I’m not the one signing. »

But Romain Grosjean believes that if he has fallen back in the hierarchy, it’s primarily due to a cash flow problem: “The team still knows how to produce a good car. If the cash flow improves, I think we can return to a more conventional development plan.”

From our special correspondent in Spa-Francorchamps