Romain Grosjean has had another difficult start to the weekend
Last Friday in Abu Dhabi did not spare the Haas team. And yet, the two practice sessions seemed to have got off to a good start for the American team. Romain Grosjean, in particular, was plagued by water pressure problems, bringing his session to a premature end. Esteban Gutierrez, meanwhile, had two quieter sessions.
After a somewhat disastrous Brazilian Grand Prix, with both cars retiring, the French and the Mexican drivers were hoping to start this final Grand Prix under the lights of Abu Dhabi with better prospects. But once again, they had to contend with issues during these first two practice sessions.
Romain Grosjean → FP1: 12th (1:45.600 – 13 laps) / FP2: 14th (1:43.108 – 17 laps)
The former Lotus driver was once again plagued by problems throughout the day, with an off-track excursion in the first session and issues with the mapping and once again his brakes. During the second session, his program was cut short due to a water pressure problem. In other words, a complicated day and less running time to understand the tires, which is unlikely to help for the race.
It’s inevitably with disappointment that the Frenchman describes his day: « It’s not the easiest Friday we’ve ever had. We had issues this morning with the off-track excursion, as well as with mapping and the brakes. We worked hard to resolve them during the second session. Then, unfortunately, we had the problem with water pressure, which meant we couldn’t carry out our long-run simulations. »
The Frenchman also struggled with understanding his tires to make them work. He continues on this subject: « I was struggling with the tires to make them work. We had good stints initially during the day, but afterward, I struggled more. This will be our main focus of work tonight. We know that the third practice session tomorrow will not be representative of the rest of the weekend. Let’s hope we make the right choices for qualifying and the race. »
Esteban Gutierrez → FP1: 14th (1:445.925 – 20 laps) / FP2: 13th (1:43.012 – 35 laps)
For his part, the Mexican – still actively seeking a seat for next season – had a studious practice session and a full timetable marking this Friday in Yas Marina. So, it’s a somewhat happier Esteban Gutierrez compared to his teammate who reports on his day: « I think we maximized our capabilities on the track today. We managed to complete our entire program. What was important for us was to have a good feel of the car, especially with the changing temperatures between the two sessions. It’s important to understand to what extent this affects our car. So we have plenty of data to analyze. We will work on understanding them tonight to make the best decisions for tomorrow. »
