Following a successful day of qualifying, Romain Grosjean suffered a disappointing Sunday as a water leak thwarted any chance of finishing in the points.
Grosjean was able to power his way into sixth on the grid, and was adamant that the Haas F1 Team’s car was capable of outperforming the likes of Williams Martini Racing. The Williams of Felipe Massa did manage to get ahead at Turn One but Grosjean was running comfortably in seventh. However, after only 13 laps the Frenchman was destined for the pits.
“I suddenly lost a lot of power,” he said. “I told the guys, then the next thing I knew I had to slow down the car.
“It’s a pretty disappointing result, but again, right now I’m hot and we’re all disappointed to lose a seventh-place position, but the car was there in qualifying in P6. The start wasn’t ideal, so we need to improve that. I felt I was faster than the Williams, so there’s huge potential in the car.”
Haas’ first season in Formula 1 was marred with reliability issues, as the car suffered from inconsistent results throughout the year. If the team were able to maintain their performance capability, they would prove contenders not only for the mid-grid positions but also the middle of the constructors’ table, securing much-needed brand visibility.
“I guess the key for us is to keep the momentum and get the consistency we didn’t have last year, where I’d be fifth in Bahrain then 19th in China,” he continued. “I really want to improve on that and get more consistency in terms of results.
“If we do that, then I’m sure there are going to be plenty of races where we can score good points. I’m feeling it right now, but tomorrow I’m going to wake up thinking, you know what, we’ve got a great car, so no matter what, we’re going to be there this year.”
