Romain Grosjean’s Qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix ended before he even reached the end of the pit lane with plumes of smoke exiting the back of his Haas F1 Team car.
The Frenchman has endured a tough campaign so far and is one of only two drivers yet to break into the points in the opening six races, and a day after hitting a beaver during practice, more bad luck struck with the engine failure that left him right at the back of the field.
“Something went wrong,” said Grosjean. “Maybe the beaver from yesterday was still in there somewhere.
“Seriously though, we laugh about it as it’s been a terrible series of luck since the first race of the season. We’ve had some really tough luck.”
Grosjean was hoping for a strong performance after running the updated VF-18 for the first time, and with team-mate Kevin Magnussen qualifying eleventh, the Frenchman felt the pace was there to attack for a top ten Qualifying position had he got out on track.
“Anyway, the feeling in the car was really good since FP1,” said Grosjean. “I was very happy with the upgrade. Kevin was improving and getting better in qualifying, which is great for the team.
Grosjean feels trying something different with strategy will aid his recovery on Sunday as he aims to take his first points of the season. He says overtaking is much easier in Montreal than Monaco two weeks ago, and he hopes for some luck in order to secure that first top ten result of 2018.
“Starting last is never ideal, but it’s one of those racetracks where you can overtake, so luckily it’s not Monaco,” said the Frenchman. “I think everyone starting on Hypersofts is going to suffer from the degradation, especially if it’s warm.
“We’re going to try something different. There are a lot of cars to get around. A good safety car, some luck at a good time, and we could be up there.”
