Being the obvious number two driver in the Lotus F1 Team, Romain Grosjean is pinning his early season hopes on the exhaust upgrade fitted to current championship runner-up Kimi Raikkonen's E21.
The Finn took his upgraded Lotus to a race victory in Melbourne and finished seventh at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but Grosjean has yet to experience the car upgrades introduced at the second round of the championship.
The 26-year-old is eager to try out the new parts after failing to have them fitted to his car. The Enstone based Lotus team fitted upgrades to Raikkonen's car in both Melbourne and Sepang but not Grosjean's, creating an uphill struggle for him.
Lotus Race Team Manager Paul Seaby admitted that the team needed to give Romain equal machinery in comparison to his team mate, saying post-Malaysia "One of the main objectives is to make sure both drivers have the latest parts available to them. Romain of course was running without the latest spec exhaust system and related bodywork in Malaysia, and there will be further additions to come for both cars on top of that.
Looking ahead to the next race weekend in China, Grosjean says that he is eager to get his hands on the new car parts. "We've been making steps forward with performance and that's always what you want,"
He continued "The new front wing was beneficial and I'm looking forward to getting the latest exhaust configuration in China. Kimi [Raikkonen] used it in Sepang and it was definitely of benefit to the car."
The Frenchman also reflected on a "frustrating" start to the season, saying "I don't think I've shown my full potential yet," but believed that if he had "the car we wanted all weekend" then he could have achieved better in Malaysia.
"Starting further up the grid and making a better start would have helped too, but it's always easy to say that. During the race itself I spent a lot of time stuck behind Felipe [Massa] in the middle phase and I'm sure if I could have passed him earlier then I would have stayed ahead."
"But by the end my tyres were finished," he added. "So it was best just to let him through without compromising either of our races. There were a couple of times where maybe the backmarkers could have made things a little easier too."
James Allison's latest quotes will certainly put that famous grin back in Grosjean's face. The teams Technical Director said "We'll be upgrading Romain to the latest spec exhaust and related bodywork as run by Kimi in Malaysia."
He added "We also have a few small tweaks to the front wing, rear wing endplates and sidepod vanes. One of the benefits gained from the new exhaust package is an increase in rear downforce through corners where the ratio of exhaust speed to car speed is high, which tend to be the lower speed corners."
Lotus will be hoping to repeat the success of Melbourne and see a return to form after a mediocre Malaysian Grand Prix.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The 26-year-old is eager to try out the new parts after failing to have them fitted to his car. The Enstone based Lotus team fitted upgrades to Raikkonen's car in both Melbourne and Sepang but not Grosjean's, creating an uphill struggle for him.
Lotus Race Team Manager Paul Seaby admitted that the team needed to give Romain equal machinery in comparison to his team mate, saying post-Malaysia "One of the main objectives is to make sure both drivers have the latest parts available to them. Romain of course was running without the latest spec exhaust system and related bodywork in Malaysia, and there will be further additions to come for both cars on top of that.
Looking ahead to the next race weekend in China, Grosjean says that he is eager to get his hands on the new car parts. "We've been making steps forward with performance and that's always what you want,"
He continued "The new front wing was beneficial and I'm looking forward to getting the latest exhaust configuration in China. Kimi [Raikkonen] used it in Sepang and it was definitely of benefit to the car."
The Frenchman also reflected on a "frustrating" start to the season, saying "I don't think I've shown my full potential yet," but believed that if he had "the car we wanted all weekend" then he could have achieved better in Malaysia.
"Starting further up the grid and making a better start would have helped too, but it's always easy to say that. During the race itself I spent a lot of time stuck behind Felipe [Massa] in the middle phase and I'm sure if I could have passed him earlier then I would have stayed ahead."
"But by the end my tyres were finished," he added. "So it was best just to let him through without compromising either of our races. There were a couple of times where maybe the backmarkers could have made things a little easier too."
James Allison's latest quotes will certainly put that famous grin back in Grosjean's face. The teams Technical Director said "We'll be upgrading Romain to the latest spec exhaust and related bodywork as run by Kimi in Malaysia."
He added "We also have a few small tweaks to the front wing, rear wing endplates and sidepod vanes. One of the benefits gained from the new exhaust package is an increase in rear downforce through corners where the ratio of exhaust speed to car speed is high, which tend to be the lower speed corners."
Lotus will be hoping to repeat the success of Melbourne and see a return to form after a mediocre Malaysian Grand Prix.
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