Spanish Grand Prix 09/10/11 May 2014 Barcelona
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SPANISH GRAND PRIX 09/10/11 MAY 2014 BARCELONA www.lotusf1team.com Closer to Home After a top ten qualifying performance in Shanghai, Deputy Team Principal Federico Gastaldi expects another step forward in Barcelona. We are gradually It was close but no cigar in Shanghai? How satisfying has it been to see the Is it good for the team to move to races in getting where we Yes, we were running in the top ten and there were improvements come? Europe? many green shoots of recovery made evident over We won’t be satisfied until we are on the top step of Logistically, it’s certainly easier and you don’t miss want to be. the course of the last race weekend, we didn’t get the podium! We are all racers and that is what we not having the long-haul flights. For me, Barcelona is the points we wanted. Romain’s gearbox issue was all want. Even then, not everyone will be satisfied, as a fantastic place and we missed not visiting Barcelona something very rare for an Enstone team and we’ve you can only ever have one person on that top step! in the pre-season testing this year. Spanish is my first quickly identified the issue and taken preventative Certainly, seeing improvement is always a positive language and I have lived in Spain for many years so measures and we are working hard to ensure Pastor and our outlook is good. When you look at how our you could certainly say I’m a fan personally. Formula 1 has the car he wants underneath him. pace – particularly our race pace – has improved always receives good support in Barcelona and it’s relative to our rivals, there is a lot to shout about. certainly one of the busier events on track of the How difficult has it been for the team to keep season. improving in absolute and relative terms? Is there a temptation to switch focus to next It’s true, you always face a moving target in Formula 1. year’s car? How are you enjoying the new role now you Just finding improvements in your car over the course It’s still early in the year and we are determined to have four races under your belt? of the season is not good enough; you need to find achieve good results in 2014. Of course, even last year I have been humbled since my appointment as Deputy more improvements than your rivals do. We certainly we started looking at the 2015 car and we always look Team Principal by the amount of support I have have made tremendous gains in absolute and relative far in advance. All the signs are still that the E22 is received for the team from the world of Formula 1. terms since we started the year. Definitely, we had a great car wanting to come out, and we’re pushing I’ve also been very busy, that is for sure. The role is the most gains to make, but we still look to be very progress and development so that everyone will see a good one, and the team is fantastic to work with – much on an upward trajectory. this. which is something I’ve always known. Of course, it is a challenging time for all teams and for the sport, but we all keep pushing hard. FEDERICO GASTALDI DEPUTY TEAM PRINCIPAL Gain in Spain After seeing a top ten start thwarted by a rare gearbox issue at Shanghai, Romain Grosjean is determined to see the team’s progress rewarded in Barcelona… Is it a case of glass ‘half full’ or ‘half empty’ How do you explain the progression made at What does returning to Barcelona mean for after China? the last race? you? The gearbox problem was obviously a big On the exterior the car looks the same however we Barcelona means the start of the European season. disappointment. But the overall picture for the whole had a number of mechanical upgrades and also That also means we can travel less, which is good weekend was 90% positive. We didn’t get a reward improvements that came from Renault Sport F1. Also, because I’ve now seen every single movie on the plane! at the end, but we know we made a step in the right we continue to learn and understand the E22 and how But seriously it’s easier for the engineers to bring new direction with the car. Before the problem in the race to exploit areas we can continue to improve on. parts to the track and it’s always nice to see European we were the second Renault team, also in front of fans. I’m happy to be back in Barcelona. I have some the McLarens and fighting with Force India. That was It seemed the team made a bigger step than the good memories and it’s a track where I finished 4th positive. other Renault teams in China? back in 2012. It is a circuit everyone knows well, so as a Yes. On paper we made a big relative improvement in team we go to Barcelona intent on getting much more Do you think the car is now delivering its China but it wasn’t just one thing. We took the Renault performance from the car. We are concentrating on potential? updates and our own updates as well and moved this goal. We just have to push as hard as we can and I think it is getting there. It is still not as good as we forward. Altogether we made a big step, even though stay as positive as possible even when the going gets believe it can be. The aim in Barcelona is to keep there were no massive changes on the car - we’re just tough. As a team we have to stay united, it will make us improving, but we know we have a decent platform to trying to make everything work together better. There is stronger as a unit. work from and solve the remaining issues. Of course more to come for Barcelona. power unit wise we are not yet equal to the best and from our side we are still behind the top Renault team. The objective is to get our first points. ROMAIN GROSJEAN RACE DRIVER #8 The Señor wants more… After going the distance at the last two races, Pastor Maldonado is eager to pick up the pace and fight for points during the opening round of the European season in Barcelona… Everyone is fighting 100% to get back to What did you ‘takeaway’ from China? course my mother tongue is Spanish. So I hope to see a lot of - there are the two Mercedes and two Red Bulls and then others We had a good start and first lap, but then because of the flags around the track and some great support as usual. It’s who have shown good pace in recent races like Force India - but the front of the grid. lack of top-end speed we were struggling to overtake and always good to race in front of your fans and I am determined to if we get 100% from the car we can fight all of the other teams lost a lot of time behind slower cars, which compromised our continue my good record there. and come away with something good to build on. final result. Lap by lap our pace was improving, but it was not enough to pass more people. I think we need to work very hard What do you remember about the win in 2012? What are you expecting from the technical updates? to increase the top speed so that we can attack more during the It was a great day in my career, a strong race and victory over Clearly we expect the updates to be positive, but it’s difficult race. Otherwise the car is not too bad and it can only improve Fernando Alonso in his home event. We really deserved it to say how big the relative improvement will be because from here. We achieved a good step forward for the Chinese because we did it on merit and under big pressure from the everybody will bring updates and nothing stands still in race. Now we have time to review the data and try to do the Ferrari all race. People forget that we were outside the top Formula 1. The bottom line is that we must keep improving and same again in Spain, hopefully giving us a good chance to fight ten on Friday and then everything came together. We qualified pushing. We won’t get to the end of this season and look back for points. second - pole after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified - and I to think we could have done more. Everyone is fighting 100% knew there was a chance to win the race. I just felt so calm and to get back to the front of the grid. When we get there it will be Tell us about the Circuit de Catalunya? ready to win. That weekend, after being 17th in first practice, even sweeter. The circuit has certainly been very good for me in the past, with shows why you must never give up in Formula 1. It also gave me the win in 2012 being the highlight. A top ten in qualifying will more confidence because my first year in F1 had been difficult, How important is it to get points as soon as possible? be our first focus and then it’ll be a very tough race in terms but as soon as the car was competitive I was up there, fighting It is vital because this team and the drivers are used to of tyre management, with a lot of pit stops and strategy.