Saturday: Lotus falls back with Grosjean and Maldonado stopped in Q2
The team from Enstone is having a laborious weekend in Monaco, with tires that are struggling to heat up. The E22 is not finding enough performance in the slow corners of the Monaco Principality.
Romain Grosjean (No. 8) – 16th and 14th
The Franco-Swiss Formula 1 car was not fast enough. He was relying on the help of warmer conditions, but that was not the case. The qualifying session was difficult as he explains: « Despite the fact that the car’s balance was okay, it was a bit troubled in slow corners. We will have to work on that because the E22 is much better in fast sectors. »
He still plans to fight in a race that can always be unpredictable.
Pastor Maldonado (no.13) – 18th and 15th
The Venezuelan is disappointed with his afternoon after promising Barcelona tests. He states: We were having difficulties getting the tires up to temperature, which seem to be a very hard compound for Monaco. I also suffered a lot from traffic, which didn’t help with warming up the tires or doing a quick lap.
He plans to make a safe start: « It’s a long race tomorrow, so we’ll try to stay clean in the first two laps, have a good strategy and see what we can do by giving our best. »
