Romain Grosjean is ready for what he feels is the hardest race of the year as the heat and humidity coupled with the high speeds at the Sepang International Circuit make it a tough proposition for any driver.
The Haas F1 Team driver wants to get his season back on track after failing to start the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks ago, and with the Malaysian circuit having been re-profiled and resurfaced, he is eager to find out how the grip levels are this weekend.
“With the resurfacing, you’ve got to go through with the cars and see if the grip is different,” said Grosjean. “I think it’s pretty much the hardest race of the year. Singapore is a slower track with slower corners, whereas Malaysia has high speed with high loads.
“Again, it’s a great challenge, a great track, and when you have a good car, it’s an amazing experience. There are some big straight lines with good top speed, and then some big braking zones. It’s a track with high tire degradation. Overtaking is really good fun at Sepang.
“There’s also a lot of rain at Sepang, so we could see some big aquaplaning. We’ll be working as hard as we can to deal with all the conditions.”
Grosjean revealed that despite being disappointed not to take the start of the Singapore Grand Prix, he is eager to get on top of what caused them to sit out the race and have a much better weekend in Malaysia.
“It was frustrating not to race,” said Grosjean. “It’s what I love to do. I just want to go to the next one and get on top of all the issues we had.
“Singapore was a very difficult weekend for myself, but mostly for the guys on the team.”
