The Lotus F1 Team did not score any points at the Monaco Grand Prix, but Romain Grosjean drove a great race to twelfth after starting the race from fifteenth, surviving an incident between himself and Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen that denied him the chance to fight for points. Meanwhile, his team-mate Pastor Maldonado suffered from as suspected hydraulic leak which forced his retirement from the race on Lap 7.
Also the Lotus F1 Team ran with branding for the creative force that is Pharrell Williams in yesterday’s race to highlight the start of a new global collaborative marketing partnership between Lotus and the rapper.
Grosjean stated that he didn’t see much of the accident with Verstappen while the duo were fighting over tenth position, but said that the clash proved once more that Monaco is a difficult track to successfully overtake at. He was glad that the Dutch driver was okay, and believed that he was handing a strong race up to that point, with his car performing well for him.
“I didn’t see much of the accident with Verstappen, just his car flying past me in the air!,” said Grosjean. “Overtaking in Monaco is difficult and I think he gained that bit of experience today. It’s good to know he’s okay, as it was a bit dangerous for both of us, and it cost us what would have been a hard-earned point. Until then my race had been going pretty well when you consider where we started.
“The car felt good and the strategy was working well. After the accident, I turned around which established all four wheels were there, then looked in the mirrors to see if the rear wing was still there too, then got on with my race.”
Maldonado confirmed that he had an ongoing problem with his brakes during the race that compromised his afternoon. Despite his fifth retirement in six races in 2015, he is confident that the car would have performed well for him if this issue hadn’t have occurred, and retains the belief that there is potential in the car this season and is looking forward to getting back in the car for the next few races.
“I had a problem with the brakes and I could feel the pedal pressure wasn’t right from very early on and that compromised our race from the off,” said Maldonado. “It got worse and worse so we had to retire the car.
“It’s a shame for the team, we had a good car here, very good pace for the race and I think a strong strategy. There’s potential in the car, we just need to carry on, work hard, and look forward in the championship.”
