Romain Grosjean is looking to continue his impressive run of three consecutive podium finishes at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Lotus driver raced from 17th to third at the last race weekend in India, making up 14 positions - the most of any driver so far this season - to take his third podium in as many races.
The Yas Marina Circuit is one that holds positive memories for the Frenchman. He retired from a guaranteed point's position last year but has experienced strong results in other series: "My history in Abu Dhabi isn’t bad. Last year wasn’t the best weekend for me, as I qualified tenth and did not finish the race. It was however a great race for the team, so we know what is possible.
"I’ve been on pole position in the GP2 Asia Series and finished second in that race, then won a GT1 racing World Championship round there. My comeback to Formula 1 was also during an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice session in 2011, so I’ve got some good memories of the place. It would be nice to have some more..."
He loves the top-notch facilities of the track but feels the layout includes too many second gear corners: "It’s an amazing facility and it looks so impressive. It’s not used as much as some circuits over the course of the year so we know we’re going to get lower grip at the start of the weekend. For me, the layout is not my favourite - there are too many second gear corners for my liking - but not every circuit can be your favourite and the E21 certainly seems to be liking every track at the moment!"
Looking ahead to the race weekend, he is hoping that another podium will come his way: "I'll come with the same philosophy as those last few races to give and do my best. I’ve finished on the podium in Korea, Japan and India. It’s a good feeling being there. Without my engine problem in Singapore I could have been on the podium there too. I only want to be scoring points for the team and you get the most points from being on the podium!"
Reflecting on that stunning drive in India, he admitted: "If you had told me after qualifying that I’d be on the podium in India I would have said you were crazy! At the start of the race our prediction was fourth place at best if we could make a strong start and have a perfect race from there, so it was an amazing result and a great performance from the team."
"A friend of mine in the media said he would eat his hat if I made a one-stop strategy work, so I’m looking forward to seeing that."
Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen is looking forward to the late race start: "An evening race means I can get up later! Having a mixture of day and night makes a different challenge from circuits that we see anywhere else. We start with the sun and finish with the lights. It’s different, interesting and spectacular for the fans to watch too."
He has suffered mixed fortunes at the modern circuit, finishing in 12th place for Ferrari at the inaugural round in 2009 and taking a stunning victory last year. Sharing his targets for the race, he said: "A race like last year would be good, rather than the one I had there in 2009."
Looking back his victory in 2012, he admitted that it was great for the team but just another win in his eyes: "I was very happy for the team; myself also obviously, but mainly for the all the crew and everyone at Enstone.
"It was a hard season so the win was well deserved for everyone and just what we needed. It was something great for all the fans who have continued to support me and the team too. For me, it was just another win on the list. It’s great of course because it had been a few years, but the wins before were very similar; we didn’t have the best car, but we fought hard and still won."
Lotus is currently involved in a hotly fought scrap for second in the constructor's standings with Mercedes and Ferrari.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
The Yas Marina Circuit is one that holds positive memories for the Frenchman. He retired from a guaranteed point's position last year but has experienced strong results in other series: "My history in Abu Dhabi isn’t bad. Last year wasn’t the best weekend for me, as I qualified tenth and did not finish the race. It was however a great race for the team, so we know what is possible.
"I’ve been on pole position in the GP2 Asia Series and finished second in that race, then won a GT1 racing World Championship round there. My comeback to Formula 1 was also during an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice session in 2011, so I’ve got some good memories of the place. It would be nice to have some more..."
He loves the top-notch facilities of the track but feels the layout includes too many second gear corners: "It’s an amazing facility and it looks so impressive. It’s not used as much as some circuits over the course of the year so we know we’re going to get lower grip at the start of the weekend. For me, the layout is not my favourite - there are too many second gear corners for my liking - but not every circuit can be your favourite and the E21 certainly seems to be liking every track at the moment!"
Looking ahead to the race weekend, he is hoping that another podium will come his way: "I'll come with the same philosophy as those last few races to give and do my best. I’ve finished on the podium in Korea, Japan and India. It’s a good feeling being there. Without my engine problem in Singapore I could have been on the podium there too. I only want to be scoring points for the team and you get the most points from being on the podium!"
Reflecting on that stunning drive in India, he admitted: "If you had told me after qualifying that I’d be on the podium in India I would have said you were crazy! At the start of the race our prediction was fourth place at best if we could make a strong start and have a perfect race from there, so it was an amazing result and a great performance from the team."
"A friend of mine in the media said he would eat his hat if I made a one-stop strategy work, so I’m looking forward to seeing that."
Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen is looking forward to the late race start: "An evening race means I can get up later! Having a mixture of day and night makes a different challenge from circuits that we see anywhere else. We start with the sun and finish with the lights. It’s different, interesting and spectacular for the fans to watch too."
He has suffered mixed fortunes at the modern circuit, finishing in 12th place for Ferrari at the inaugural round in 2009 and taking a stunning victory last year. Sharing his targets for the race, he said: "A race like last year would be good, rather than the one I had there in 2009."
Looking back his victory in 2012, he admitted that it was great for the team but just another win in his eyes: "I was very happy for the team; myself also obviously, but mainly for the all the crew and everyone at Enstone.
"It was a hard season so the win was well deserved for everyone and just what we needed. It was something great for all the fans who have continued to support me and the team too. For me, it was just another win on the list. It’s great of course because it had been a few years, but the wins before were very similar; we didn’t have the best car, but we fought hard and still won."
Lotus is currently involved in a hotly fought scrap for second in the constructor's standings with Mercedes and Ferrari.
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