Formula 1

Romain Grosjean: “It’s hard to find the right limit of the car”

2 Mins read
Romain Grosjean - Credit: Andy Hone/LAT Photographic

Romain Grosjean heads to the Monaco Grand Prix hoping to score some more points for the Haas F1 Team, but knows the demanding nature of the street circuit will make it a challenge for the American team.

The Frenchman will participate in his fifth Monaco Grand Prix this year, but has only scored points once in that time, back in 2014 whilst driving for the Lotus F1 Team, but it still remains a special event for Grosjean with it being the closest thing he has to a home race on the calendar.

“Monaco is special to me because it’s kind of my home race,” said Grosjean. “We’re beside France and there’s always a lot of people, a lot of fans.

“It is, of course, special because of all the glamour because it is Monaco. Everyone knows Monaco and everyone wants to be in Monaco. It’s a very challenging track and a very long weekend with lots of demands, but at the end of the day it’s a very nice show.”

Grosjean admits the Monaco track is a difficult circuit to race on, especially with the walls being so close to the racing line, and knows that confidence in the car is key to having a good weekend.

“It’s pretty difficult to race there,” said Grosjean. “Every city racetrack is complicated. In Monaco, you can’t make any mistakes or you’re straight into the wall.

“It’s hard to find the right limit of the car. You always have to drive underneath (the limit), unless you’re in qualifying on a very fast lap. It’s very tight there, and it goes very fast between the walls. It’s a great challenge.

“It’s a driver’s track, where you need to have confidence in your car. But, on the other hand, if your car doesn’t give you any grip, you won’t have any confidence, and you cannot make any difference. It’s just finding that very fine balance in between the car, the driver pushing it, and the fact that yes, once you’re very confident, you can actually make a bit of a difference.

“It’s probably one of the most difficult races to win. Everything needs to be perfect, from the first free practice to the end of the race. You need a good pace in practice and, hopefully, get a top-three place in qualifying. After that you need a good start, a good strategy and a good run to the end. It’s very difficult to get that right.”

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