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Grosjean has regained his confidence - Boullier

Romain Grosjean starts his second year with the team in 2013 © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Eric Boullier
• |
• Romain Grosjean

• Teams:
• Lotus F1

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says Romain Grosjean is brimming with confidence this season after putting his hit and miss year in 2012 behind him.

Grosjean scored some impressive results last season, with a total of three podiums and 96 points, but also got involved in a number of collisions, the worst of which saw him banned for one race. However, Boullier is confident his driver's confidence has not been knocked by the negative aspects of 2012 and expects Grosjean to show signs of improvement this year.

"Romain did a good job during his first two days with the E21 and has started the year full of confidence, which is exactly what we expected from him," Boullier said. "The difference is clear; he knows what he needs to do and the early signs look promising for the future."

Boullier said the initial reaction to the new car had been positive from both Grosjean and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

"The feedback from the drivers after their first few laps is always very important; if you see them step out with a smile on their face you know the baseline of the car should be good and it was pleasing to see that from both Kimi and Romain.

"On top of that, we managed to complete some decent mileage which is always encouraging when you bring a brand new car to the track for the first time. Finally, the general pace of the car looked promising with each of our drivers. Of course, lap times are not representative of the order at this early stage of the season, but to be at the front of the pack without deliberately setting out to do so is always a plus. It doesn't mean we will be world champions, but we know the car works well and that's a big credit to everyone involved."

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