GP2 Series championship leader Romain Grosjean has placed the blame at Christian Vietoris' door after missing out on pole position at the Nurburgring.
Having dominated the morning practice session where he was 0.7 seconds quicker than anyone else, Grosjean could only manage third on the grid in qualifying.
The DAMS driver led the session after his first run, but could not improve on his second lap after being held up by Vietoris at the end of his final flying lap.
“We were clearly the quickest today, but Vietoris blocked me in the final chicane,” he said. “Tomorrow is another day and I know that we’ll be quick in the race. Let’s look on the positive side of things; we're third and our main rivals are all behind us.”
DAMS general manager Loic David was pleased with the pace that Grosjean and the team showed.
“A great piece of team work,” he said. “In the free session we showed that we'd got the right setup and the speed. Romain did the rest, and it’s a pity that he was baulked on his best lap.”
Grosjean's rookie teammate Pal Varhaug could only manage 23rd, saying he couldn't get to grips with the German circuit.
“A very tough day,” the Norwegian said. “I’ve already raced at the Nürburgring and it’s not my favourite circuit. I can't manage to get the hang of it. I hope to improve in the race and make some progress, especially in the quick corners.”
