Sunday: The ordeal continues for Lotus F1
The summer break did not change the situation for the Enstone team: a fresh display of technical issues hit the Black and Gold during this Belgian Grand Prix, which concluded with two retirements.
Pastor Maldonado (n°13) – Retirement (engine)
After making a mark with a violent off-track excursion during Free Practice, and then with qualifying sessions stopped at the Q1 stage, the Venezuelan did not have high hopes for the race: « We obviously expected a difficult weekend here given the characteristics of the track, although the car seemed quite competitive today. It would have been possible to fight with Sauber and Force India during the race. »
In the end, his race came to a premature stop, concluding another Grand Prix without points. This dropout is already the 5th due to mechanical issues for the South American this season: « Unfortunately, I felt a great loss of power at the end of the first lap and saw in my mirrors that the engine was smoking a lot, so we had to retire. »
Romain Grosjean (n°8) – Retirement (loss of downforce)
After a Saturday already deemed disappointing, the situation for the Frenchman only worsened over the course of this Sunday in the Ardennes.
« The race was compromised from the start [he collided with his compatriot Jules Bianchi during the first lap, ed.]. We had to change the front wing, but we picked up debris on the track later, which made the car unstable. I suffered a significant loss of aerodynamic downforce, and since we didn’t know where the problem was coming from, I had to retire. »
Faced with results that remain delicate, the driver of car No. 8 holds on to a glimmer of hope for the future: « What is important to remember is that we are moving forward every weekend and learning a lot of things.
The guys at the factory will work hard, and even though Monza looks complicated, the next Grand Prix in Singapore should suit us much better.
