French driver Romain Grosjean had one of the best performances of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yesterday in his climb to finish ninth as he gave Lotus a satisfying send-off before he begins with Haas F1, the new American team, next season.
Strategic success
Grosjean began in last position after a penalty for changing his gear box and fought his way back, driving through an especially long first stint to save his super-soft tyres for the end. The quicker tyres were left fresh for a push that saw him overtake Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat in the final laps.
Zigging while the others zag
“We always planned to start in the reverse strategy,” to what other teams were planning, Grosjean said. “We needed the last one to be the key stint for me to push hard on the super-soft tyres. It worked well. The car was really consistent, very nice on the tyres. The first stint was long, second stint was good and from there we just did our best and it worked pretty well.”
Standings, times and driver verdict from 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Close call
Speaking about the final laps and his push into the points, Grosjean said: “It was a close call because initially I was 10 seconds behind. I knew the tyres would be good for a few laps and then start to drop, so I didn’t know how much I needed to push to catch up” to Sainz and Kvyat. “Then I saw the gap closing quite quickly and that they started to struggle, as well, so when they hit the cliff of the tyres, mine were still in good shape, and I thought ‘OK, that’s gonna be good’.”
You say goodbye...
“It’s certainly the best way to say goodbye to the guys, thank you for everything we have been through together. A good time, wonderful experience, I love the guys and I will miss them.”
... and I say hello
“On the other hand there’s a new chapter of my career with Haas and I can’t wait to start. It’s so exciting, gonna be a great chapter of my life as well. I think it’s great for Formula One that there’s an American team, we’re certainly gonna pick up some fans in America – already a good base of fans but if there’s an American team, and successful, it will massively go up.”
American attitude
Grosjean said Haas’s Nascar performance left him optimistic they could do well in F1: Haas driver Kevin Harvick finished second in that championship this season. “Certainly, things we can learn from Nascar – it’s been a great season, Haas has been successful again, second in the championship. I think if people love motorsport, they are gonna love Formula One.”
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