paulsimery: Grosjean says he’s better prepared for second season

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Grosjean says he’s better prepared for second season | 2013 F1 season

Grosjean says he’s better prepared for second season is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.

Romain Grosjean says he’s better prepared ahead of the start of his second full season of Formula One with Lotus.

Speaking at the launch of the team’s 2013 car Grosjean admitted he found his first year tougher than he expected:

“You start your career in Formula 1 thinking ‘Okay, that’s a new challenge, a tough challenge’ but then you work into the season and you think ‘Whoa! This challenge is even bigger than I thought!’

“All the elements of a Formula 1 season including the travelling – energy-wise, managing the jet lag – the media and marketing stuff, the physical demands and preparation for driving the car are quite something. I know what I need much better now and that’s what I’ve learned from last year.”

Asked how he’s changed since last season, Grosjean said: “Well first of all I’m older!

“No, it’s clearly different for me this year. I have much more experience in Formula 1 and even if I knew the team before, I now know how to work with the engineers much better on the technical side.

“I also know all the tracks and understand better the various challenges of a season. Generally things worked out pretty well, although some things didn’t always turn out as good as we wanted. It’s going to be very interesting to start the new season.”

Grosjean and team mate Kimi Raikkonen are starting their second season with the team and Grosjean believes that means the new car will suit them better:

“All through last year, the feedback given about the E20 was interpreted by the development team for the E21. This means there’s a lot of information from me and Kimi which went into this car.

“It’s difficult to say after the season ‘we would like this or that’ for next year. I think it’s more about the work done during the whole season; discussing this or that, or an idea about this or that. After twenty races you know more-or-less what has been good with the car and what hasn’t. Hopefully we’ve made the right calls for this year.”

See pictures of the new Lotus E21: