Romain Grosjean saw his run of three consecutive points scoring races ended in Monaco when he was hit by Max Verstappen whilst running in tenth position, but will be looking forward to challenging for a top ten finish this weekend in the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Lotus F1 Team driver Grosjean admits he enjoys racing between the walls in Canada, and is interested to see what the grip levels on track will be this season.
“Montreal is in-between a normal circuit and a street circuit,” said Grosjean. “The walls are very close in some places, while other parts are similar to a European circuit.
“I enjoy the sensation of being close to the walls. Montreal is different from Monaco as there are some long straights and some big braking moments. The track surface can also present challenges as we’ve seen in other seasons, so it will be interesting to see what the grip level is like this year and that will certainly be on your mind as you take to the track for the first time over the weekend.
“It’s definitely unique and we normally bring a different downforce package for that reason, which adds another unknown factor to the weekend. The circuit is not used for the rest of the year so the grip will change a lot – something we’ll have to adapt to – and the weather can also be tricky.”
Grosjean has happy memories of Montreal from back in 2012 when the Frenchman finished second after being one of only a handful of drivers to make a one-stop strategy work, finishing just 2.513s behind race winner Lewis Hamilton.
“I have very good memories from 2012 when I went from seventh on the grid to my first second place in Formula 1,” said Grosjean. “It was a really great day and it was really a strong team result as we used a one-stop strategy to get on the podium after a disappointing qualifying session the day before.
“The last couple of years haven’t been so good for me, I had to retire from last year’s race and in 2013 we struggled in the wet weather conditions.”
