Romain Grosjean was left frustrated after seeing his Australian Grand Prix qualifying cut short when on a quick lap after time ran out on him due to the new elimination-style rules
The Haas F1 Team driver felt he was on course to improve his time and possibly position but will start the first race of the season down in nineteenth position, alongside team-mate Esteban Gutierrez.
Grosjean knows the debut race for the American team will be tricky to complete at Albert Park, but that is the aim for the Frenchman and the entire team on Sunday.
“I was on a good lap and then suddenly I’m out,” said Grosjean. “I don’t even get a chance to go to the end of the lap.
“That’s annoying because the car was good, our baseline is good, and in terms of performance, we were clearly able to go through. We just missed a bit of speed on the turnaround in the garage, so we were massively out of position.
“This is one of those races where it’s tricky and you need to finish. That’s our first call for tomorrow though. That’s what Gene (Haas, chairman) wants. From there, everything is possible. It’s a long race and we have new rules with the radio ban, so we just have to try to use the experience.”
