- Singapore Grand Prix - FP2
Grosjean blames lack of pace on tyres
- Report:
-
Vettel quickest again in FP2
- Race:
- Singapore Grand Prix
- Drivers:
- Romain Grosjean
- Teams:
- Lotus F1
Romain Grosjean blamed Lotus' lack of pace during practice for the Singapore Grand Prix on a problem with the tyres.
Grosjean was 1.8s off the pace in FP2 on his comeback after missing the Italian Grand Prix through suspension, even though the Singapore street circuit was expected to suit Lotus more than the recent Spa and Monza circuits. While Grosjean said he was pleased to be back in the car, he said he was convinced the E20 is quicker than he was able to display.
"First off it's good (to be back)," Grosjean said. "We have been working quite hard to improve ourselves. Clearly the performance is not what we wanted at the moment - we are far down the timesheets - but never mind, we know what is wrong today. When you are two seconds off the pace you know it must be something out on the tyres so we will work on it, improve ourselves and try to find some solutions for tomorrow.
"The car is more or less the same as Monaco or Budapest where we were very competitive so there is no reason that the aero package we have suddenly doesn't work. So it must be something out on the tyres, and when you are two seconds off the pace it cannot be the car suddenly going nowhere and everybody else finding two seconds in the last couple of weeks."
Grosjean had previously said he'd learned some things during his time out of the car in Italy, and he confirmed he was able to put them in to practice during Friday's running.
"Yeah we did, and on this I personally am quite happy with the progress we made so that's a good point on first to start the day, but now we need to find the grip ... They are small setups in the car that makes your life a bit easier when you drive the car. It's just a question of feeling; sometimes you make a set-up change and maybe the set-up change is two tenths a lap but then the confidence of the driver is maybe four more tenths and in the end it makes six tenths - there will never be a set-up that makes that big a difference."