Grosjean: We were not looking specifically to try to top the times

4 May, 2012

Romain Grosjean was fastest on two of the three days at Mugello

May.4 (Apex) Romain Grosjean topped the timing screens on both days on which he was on duty in the Lotus E20 cockpit, of which his time on the final day was the fastest of all at Mugello this week, but the Frenchman claimed that the team were not targeting fastest lap times.

Romain drives the Lotus E20 during the second day of testing

Speaking at the end of the final day of testing in Italy, Grosjean said, “We were conducting a specific programme of evaluating components, so to be quick relative to our opposition even when we were not looking specifically to try to top the times is satisfying.”

“It was another nice day today [Thursday] so I have been lucky with the weather here. We continued to work on the car and have gained more valuable data. We made a big change to the car at lunchtime and everything went according to plan,” said the reigning GP2 Series champion, who scored his first F1 podium finish at the recent Bahrain GP.

As for the Mugello circuit, which most drivers thoroughly enjoyed, Grosjean commented, “Mugello puts high demands on the driver so it’s been a very good experience for me – and quite a workout! I’m happy at the progress we’ve made here in Italy and looking forward to seeing how well this translates into lap time when we get to Barcelona.”

Romain was happy with his two days at Mugello

Lotus gave Jerome D’Ambrosio his first taste of the E20 on the rain affected opening day at the Tuscan circuit, after which Grosjean took over for the final two days. Kimi Raikkonen, who was initially scheduled to test, was not present at Mugello.

Summing up the three days of testing, Lotus trackside operations director Alan Permane said, “After the rain on the first day, it’s been a valuable two dry days of testing. Mugello is quite hard on the tyres; not in terms of degradation, but through the high speed loadings generating heat.”

“This has taught us some interesting lessons applicable to the rest of the season. Mugello is also an excellent circuit for doing aerodynamic evaluation, so it has been time well spent here,” added Permane.

Subbed by AJN.

Related posts:

1. Grosjean plays down Lotus title challenge talk
2. Lotus: The test has taught us some interesting lessons
3. Grosjean and Lotus fastest of all on final day of Mugello test
4. Grosjean and Kobayashi share top spot at the end of day two at Mugello
5. Raikkonen to skip Mugello test as Grosjean gets extra day