Saturday: Lotus F1 expected better but fails in Q1 at Suzuka
The two Lotus drivers, Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean, were aiming for Q2 during the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying, but both actually failed in Q1.
Pastor Maldonado (n°13) – 17th and 17th [22nd on the grid]
Lotus was aiming for better before the qualifying session, just like the Venezuelan who is a bit disappointed: « Of course, we expected better qualification but we couldn’t get more out of the car when it was needed the most. »
However, he is counting on unpredictable weather: « There is potential for excitement and some opportunities tomorrow with the weather forecast, but I have the penalty for my engine change which will challenge me even more. »
Romain Grosjean (n°8) – 16th and 18th [16th on the grid]
The Frenchman, who also hopes a lot from the rainy weather conditions, suggests that the wind might be a possible reason for the underperformance of the sluggish E22: « We thought we were quite good compared to yesterday and this morning, good enough to aim for 12th and 13th places, but I was less happy with the car in qualifying. The wind changed, and it may be too sensitive to that, but whatever the reason, we couldn’t have a better pace. »
