Saturday: Räikkönen dodges the raindrops at Lotus, not Grosjean
This Saturday was mixed for the Lotus F1 Team: while the performance in the dry seemed to be on point during Free Practice 3, the qualifying sessions were marked by Romain Grosjean's exit, forcing him to start 10th, and a strategic error for Kimi Räikkönen, who went out on Rain tires in Q3 when Intermediates were the better choice.
Kimi Räikkönen – 5th and 6th:
« We made a wrong decision by using the Rain tires and I only had one lap in the last qualifying session with the Intermediates, otherwise, I think I could have been faster. We also had a problem with the KERS that we tried to fix during the red flag. We are in 6th place, which is certainly not a disaster; but it could have been better. The weather makes things a bit more complicated for everyone. It’s not easy, especially with the water spray, and it’s even more difficult in race conditions when everyone is fighting for the same piece of track. On the plus side for the fans, it’s nice to watch, even if it’s not the best weather if you’re in the stands. »
Romain Grosjean – 3rd and 10th [9th on the grid]:
« It’s frustrating and I’m very sorry for the team since it seems we had a good car, but sometimes mistakes happen. My lap wasn’t really different from the previous one but it was enough to send me off, and the car went into the gravel in reverse and then got stuck there. It was very slippery. We deserved better, but we’ll do our best tomorrow to gain positions and earn good points. It will be a long race, and the starting position isn’t so significant if the conditions are variable. There’s also a benefit to not having run in Q3 since I have a new set of Intermediate tires. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. »
