Romain Grosjean admits he does not know how this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix is going to go for the Haas F1 Team, with the Frenchman continuing to use the Melbourne-specification again at the Hungaroring.
Haas have used split set-ups on each of its car in the past two races at Silverstone and Hockenheimring and are doing so again at the Budapest circuit in order to further understand why their race pace is so up and down in 2019.
Grosjean, who scored his best result of the season last weekend in Germany, will continue to use the older specification while team-mate Kevin Magnussen will use the updated Barcelona specification, with the former admitting the VF-19 has been a tricky car to understand all season long.
“We don’t really know how it’s going to go,” admits Grosjean. “We take everything race-by-race at the moment.
“For now, we’re in an experimental time as the car has been quite tricky to understand. At some tracks where we thought we’d do well, we did not, and other tracks where we thought it was going to be a bit more tricky, things actually worked better. So, let’s just go race-by-race.
“It’s a tough Grand Prix because of the heat and a lack of straight lines. There’s a lot of action behind the steering wheel. The g-forces aren’t as high as they can be at some other places, but it’s a tough Grand Prix. I like the challenge.”
One of Haas’ biggest problems in 2019 has been their inability to get Pirelli’s 2019 compounds of tyre to consistently work with their VF-19, and Grosjean knows it will be another weekend of uncertainty at the Hungaroring.
“They don’t get much rest in Budapest, that’s for sure,” said the Frenchman. “There aren’t many high-speed corners, which doesn’t put too much energy into them, but there’s no rest either, and temperatures can be really high.
“It’s a good challenge on tyres, and getting them to work nicely in the window.”
Grosjean, who took a podium finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix back in 2012, admits the Hungaroring is one of his favourite events of the season and he cannot wait for the track action to get underway on Friday.
“Hungary is one of my favourite races of the year,” says Grosjean. “I love the fans there, I love the circuit, the atmosphere, and it’s always the summer.
“It’s right before our summer break, so you know you can really go flat-out then recharge your batteries. I’m looking forward to going there.”
