Romain Grosjean is very satisfied with his 5th place

Although he stated before qualifying that both Lotus cars could make it into the top 10 during qualifying, Romain Grosjean did not necessarily expect to finish so high on the starting grid: “From yesterday’s perspective, I thought 8th was within our reach. So this is very satisfying.”

The question of his prospects for the race obviously arises. On this subject, he believes that the start will be predominant on the final result: « With the mechanical and aerodynamic grip we have here, it’s “un-overtakable.” So if we manage to hold our position in the first few laps, we can have good hopes and score points. »

The question of the F1 pace compared to last year has been recurring since the start of the Spanish weekend because the gap is nearly six seconds compared to 2013, whereas it seemed smaller during the first races of the season: « We know well that Barcelona is a touchstone. Here, there’s a lot more cornering to handle, with fewer straights. Last year, on a track like China, we spent half the straight line at the rev limiter. This year, with the eighth gear, we no longer have this issue, so we are faster in top speed. However, in the corners, it’s a different story. » Similarly, the choices made by Pirelli do not help accelerate the pace, leading to a controversy between Sergio Pérez and the Italian manufacturer.

One of the many changes this year was setting the gearbox ratios for the entire season. For the Lotus driver, is this a significant handicap? « Enormously! I really like to play with the ratios depending on the circuit. So it’s certain that this doesn’t benefit me. On the simulator, it makes almost no difference but, in real life, I think it can represent two to three tenths of a second per lap. »

This constraint on gearbox ratios can lead to both team drivers not using the same gears at the same time: « For example, in the chicane, Pastor is in second and I’m in third. I like my rear to be quite stable. That’s why I’m one gear above him. »

In any case, Romain Grosjean is pleased to have narrowed the gap with his main rivals, especially Red Bull, which also uses the Renault engine: « We’ve come back to seven or eight tenths of Red Bull with an almost identical engine, which is encouraging. But now, it’s the hardest tenths that we still need to catch up. »

From our special correspondent in Barcelona