Lotus F1 well placed for Q3 in Bahrain
The three Lotus drivers (Maldonado, Palmer, Grosjean) on track this Friday in Bahrain generally appreciated the behavior of their car. Deprived of the first free practice session, Romain Grosjean must nonetheless catch up with his teammate.
As in China last week, Jolyon Palmer, the reigning GP2 champion, was able to climb into Romain Grosjean’s seat for the first free practice session. Achieving the fourteenth best time, he confirmed feeling good sensations: « It was great to be back in the car after Shanghai, and I was able to continue my momentum. I set my best time early in the session, so I couldn’t stay very high in the rankings with the longer runs later in the session, but I’m happy with my progress. The car has improved since China. »
Once again forced to give up his spot on Friday morning, Romain Grosjean remained positive despite an uncomfortable situation that is unfortunately likely to repeat several more times this season: « It was a frustrating session for me, as I couldn’t bring the car exactly where I wanted it; but we saw, with Pastor’s lap, that the pace was there once we got the settings to work. »
With a seventh fastest time achieved during the second session, Pastor Maldonado can indeed aim for a Q3 on Saturday: “It’s very good to see that we didn’t spend much time finding the right settings to adapt to the temperature change [between the afternoon and early evening],” he said after the second practice session.
The Lotus proved to be particularly fast on the long straights of the circuit, taking advantage of the Mercedes engine’s power to secure one of the top three speeds on the grid.
