Romain Grosjean will arrive at the Silverstone Circuit this weekend looking to carry the momentum from last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix where he finally secured his first points of the season at the ninth time of asking.
The Haas F1 Team racer achieved a fourth place finish at the Red Bull Ring, the best result for his team in the two and a half years of racing in Formula 1, and it gave him twelve points that moved him to fifteenth in the Drivers’ Championship standings heading into this weekend’s round in Great Britain.
Grosjean says the Silverstone circuit is a ‘cool’ track but one that is far from easy, and it is important that the VF-18 is well balanced if they are to attack the corners hard, particularly in the ones that require total commitment and are taken flat-out.
“It’s a really cool track, especially the fast part through Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel corners,” said Grosjean. “When you have the grip in the car there, you really get the sensation of the g-forces.
“Everything’s pushing down. You really want to get the first part of the flowing corners right. If you don’t, you just lose a lot of time. When the car is very stable and has good balance, you can go flat-out and really push it to the limit.
“Silverstone is not an easy track,” he continued. “You’ve got all the high-speed sections, where you really want to carry some speed and get fast. Then you’ve got the twisty turns three and four, then the whole last corner, which is tricky on the throttle application.
“Generally, you need a good rear-end, and if you get that, you can then put some front-flap on and go faster.”
Grosjean says there are a few spots around the Silverstone Circuit where overtaking is possible, but he says it is an easier proposition if the car in front is not as well balanced as his own car, something he hopes to capitalise on this Sunday.
“There are a few spots,” said the Frenchman. “On the straights and through the high-speed corners, you have an opportunity if your car is much better balanced than the car in front of you.
“After turn three or turn four, there’s the long section after the slow-speed corners, and that’s a good opportunity, as well. But the thing about Silverstone is really the difference between a well-balanced car and an unbalanced car –that’s where the opportunity lies.”
