Friday March 22, 2013
Romain determined to win on his favourite track
Men at work: Team Lotus crew busy preparing Kimi Raikkonen’s car at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday. — S.S. KANESAN/The Star SEEING his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen romping to an easy Formula One victory for Lotus in the season-opening Melbourne Grand Prix has got Romain Grosjean all worked up.
And the 25-year-old is determined to fight his way to the chequered flag at the Petronas Malaysia Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang this weekend.
Grosjean finished 10th in Melbourne but is optimistic things will be different on his favourite track.
Grosjean raced at the Malaysian track a few times when he took part in the GP2 Asia Series in which he became overall champion in 2008.
“Sepang is probably my favourite track of the whole season. I first raced there in 2008 as part of the GP2 Asia Series and I really loved the circuit.
“It’s nice and wide, with fast flowing corners and a lot of undulation which makes it great fun to drive. The last corner is a tricky one, but I enjoy everything about racing there. Well, maybe not the heat and humidity, but at the end of the day it’s just another challenge for the drivers!
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said the two-time GP2 Asia champion, who based his optimism on the strong early pace of the Lotus machines.
“Clearly Kimi’s car worked very well in Australia and the fact that mine felt good at times over the weekend gives us a clear target for us to get the right setup and a guide of what the car is capable of. I want to be scoring 25 points in a Grand Prix for the team.
“I’m working closely with my engineers to understand exactly what is required to ensure the E21 is at its best for me. Knowing that we’re very close to getting the car where I want it, is certainly promising.”
Grosjean said he was disappointed with the end result in Melbourne, however.
“Yes, it’s a shame as everything looked positive after qualifying in the morning, but in the race something felt wrong with my car. I sat down with my engineers to analyse where the problem came from and hopefully we can be able to perform better in the future. The car felt so good at times over the weekend, but then at other times it wasn’t where I wanted it to be.
“It was very frustrating and I’m disappointed for the team and for myself as I wanted to start the season with a good result.
“If the car is capable of being on the podium, then I want to be there.”
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