Romain Grosjean blasted his car’s Renault engine after a disappointing qualifying session in Singapore.
The Lotus driver made it as far as Q2 – unlike team mate Pastor Maldonado – but was the slowest of the remaining 17 drivers.
A furious Grosjean made the reasons for his car’s lack of pace clear when he spoke to race engineer Ayao Komatsu on the radio immediately afterwards:
| From | To | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Romain Grosjean | Ayao Komatsu | I cannot believe it! Bloody engine! Bloody engine! |
| Ayao Komatsu | Romain Grosjean | Understood, Romain. Very sorry about that. It’s the same issue as we had in P3. |
| Romain Grosjean | Ayao Komatsu | I don’t care, I don’t care. It’s too much. |
| Ayao Komatsu | Romain Grosjean | Yeah of course, of course. |
| Romain Grosjean | Ayao Komatsu | Honestly. We break our balls to make a good qualifying and you lose five tenths every single straight line because the thing cuts. Honestly it’s hard for all of us. |
| Ayao Komatsu | Romain Grosjean | Absolutely is. I totally agree. |
Lotus had talked up their chances ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend on a circuit where aerodynamic grip is far more important than straight-line speed. The team’s head of trackside operations Alan Permane said it was “very frustrating” both cars had suffered the same problem during qualifying.
“The E22 has been working much better in high downforce here in Singapore and both drivers had the potential to qualify higher than we have seen for most of this season,” he said.
“Unfortunately, both experienced a similar issue related to the turbo wastegate which meant they lacked full power when they needed it most during qualifying.”
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Image © Lotus/LAT
Gino Van Den Broecke (@crekkan)
20th September 2014, 15:44
I feel so sorry for him. Has a great end to 2013 and proves himself to be a good driver… and Renault kicks in.
Vitaterne
20th September 2014, 15:52
I really hope he gets a better car next year, or just a better engine. Lotus managed to build a good car last year and they have a very talented and dedicated team behind them. It would be a shame for them to drop out because of this season, loosing the last vestiges of the Renault team and a very talented driver who deserves a good drive.
greg-c (@greg-c)
20th September 2014, 15:52
DanRics Renault seems to be going ok?
Has Lotus paid their Renault bill yet?
Bad luck to Grosjean, he really did save his own career from the bogger with his stella comeback and an awesome 2013 with some really great drives, but that Lotus looks a dog breakfast , and not just engine either,
Vitaterne
20th September 2014, 15:53
I thought that it was found that Redbull get priority with engine updates and fixes.
Mayank (@mjf1fan)
20th September 2014, 16:00
As far as I remember, ONLY Riccardo’s Renault is working flawlessly this season. Every other driver on Renault engine has suffered problems.
Dion (@infinitygc)
20th September 2014, 16:04
Well, I think that’s a bit of an unfair comparison seeing that Daniel is the only Renault user who’s had perfect reliability thus far.
Otherwise, I agree with you, that Lotus is absolutely terrible. Both drivers have only finished 7 out of the 13 races (!) and it couldn’t take corners if its life depended on it. It can’t get heat into its tires and it can’t get heat out of its engine.
After this Renault-rant, I wouldn’t be surprised if he switches to McLaren for next year.
Xusen (@xusen)
20th September 2014, 16:42
The difference is that Redbull are now the defacto works team for Renault and they get the most attention when it comes to issues.
With all the financial issues Lotus are facing, maybe they are not getting the constant attention needed to manage these pesky Renault V6’s.
Patrick (@paeschli)
20th September 2014, 16:55
It’s pretty obvious Red Bull gets the latest updates. Maybe Renault is doing this on purpose since Lotus are switching to Mercedes next year.
Jean-Christophe
20th September 2014, 19:11
I doubt they’d do it on purpose. That’s very bad publicity for them and less teams will be willing to buy their engines.
maarten.f1 (@)
20th September 2014, 21:07
@paeschli I would think that would be even more an incentive for Renault to do better. To show the world (and other teams) they do have a good engine. It’s already bad publicity if Lotus is switching…
iAltair (@)
20th September 2014, 22:20
Have no idea what are the people saying here.
Renault turned to Redbull for technical help because Redbull, AFAIK have the knowledge and skills to fix.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think Renault is more closely related to Lotus.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
20th September 2014, 23:51
Happy to correct you that Ranault is more closely related to Lotus than Red Bull:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114818
@ialtair
Solo (@solo)
11th December 2014, 6:09
Actually is not even the same exact engine. Renault has said that they made different versions of their engine for their customers and especially for Lotus and Red Bull. Caterham may be getting one of the two versions i don’t know.
That was one of the complains Horner had. He said that Renault doing that meant they couldn’t just concentrate on a single version of the engine and devoting all their resources on that version and splitting their resources like that it ended up hurting the performance.
Formula Indonesia (@)
20th September 2014, 16:15
I hope Grosjean will not end up like Heidfeld.
Rigi (@rigi)
20th September 2014, 16:44
i believe he’s had enough now. he’ll be knocking on any door now as long as he doesn’t have to stay at lotus. at least i hope he will.
you can’t blame him. his talent is being wasted and no team that has maldonado in it, will be able to fight for the championship. he needs to leave lotus. hoping to see him in a mclaren next year.
William Stuart (@williamstuart)
20th September 2014, 16:49
Would be nice to see, McLaren are at least well off enough to not employ pay drivers.
pastaman (@)
20th September 2014, 20:38
Doesn’t need to leave, they are getting a Merc engine next year. Although, with the new nose regs for next year they will probably need to change their car the most seeing as it all starts at the front of the car. Could go well or horribly wrong…
Fun (@functor)
20th September 2014, 16:51
He deserves a better car for sure, but where? McLaren-Honda?
JCost (@jcost)
20th September 2014, 17:07
McLaren should have him in their short list. I’m starting to think Grosjean is a better bet than Hulkenberg.
Nickpkr251
20th September 2014, 17:22
Of course he is !
Omarr-pepper
20th September 2014, 17:41
me too, and even when Hulk is having a good campaign, he’s not really making Perez sweat. Grosjean should be given Massa’s williams. Btw, was a rumor in yesterday or two days ago’s round-up about Button to Williams? Maybe I just misunderstood a joke.
Rigi (@rigi)
20th September 2014, 17:49
williams already confirmed massa and bottas for next year. it’s a shame, button would be a safer bet than massa.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
20th September 2014, 18:38
Not really making Perez sweat? It’s 70-39 in Hulkenberg’s favour, or 64-36 in terms of percentage. The only drivers to have scored less in terms of percentage are Raikkonen, Massa, Magnussen, Chilton and Maldonado, and most of those are not a huge amount behind.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
20th September 2014, 20:02
@jcost – Just because Nico has had a quiet run of races in a thoroughly underdeveloped Force India (which is probably now the seventh fastest car – behind the Toro Rosso)? His issue is that he is not a spectacular driver, merely fabulously consistent and fabulously fast, and it is because Perez often has eye-catching weekends that people often wrongly think the battle is closer (which it isn’t as @craig-o explains above). It was exactly that that wrong footed McLaren in 2012 when the overlooked the fantastic performances of Hulkenberg in the Force India in favour of Perez due to his podiums in what was actually an excellent car in the shape of the C31. Also, if Ferrari could turn the clock back twelve months, do you think they would stick to their decision to choose Raikkonen over Hulkenberg?
The plain facts are that Hulkenberg’s performances for Williams, Force India and Sauber would certainly translate into poles and race wins in a faster car, and it is in that regard that I feel it is a profound shame that he has not, and might never, climb up the grid; he is clearly world championship material. The only reason that Romain’s name would appear above Nico’s on a list in Woking is the need to buy Nico out of his Force India contract if they wanted him next year…
JCost (@jcost)
21st September 2014, 0:07
@william-brierty I’m a Hulkenberg fan and I think McLaren should have given him the seat when Lewis left but I can’t ignore how fast Grosjean can be. Force India is clearly losing the development race but that twin tusk Lotus is pathetic and Grosjean still manages some shiny performances.
The choice between Nico and Romain is pretty close.
joe jopling (@jop452)
20th September 2014, 21:13
Now who was at Lotus…went to Mclaren….and is also Grosjeans manager???
Deej44 (@deej92)
20th September 2014, 21:54
I don’t see why McLaren would drop Button for Grosjean. Would McLaren be getting much better results by putting Grosjean in the car? I doubt it. If McLaren want someone to replace Button, it’s got to be a meaningful replacement. A step forwards, not side-wards.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
20th September 2014, 23:52
If he is so annoyed about the engine, why would he not just drive for Lotus-Mercedes?
JCost (@jcost)
21st September 2014, 0:12
He probably will stay but McLaren should consider him in case they dump Button and fail to get either Alonso or Vettel.
Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
20th September 2014, 17:43
So awful for him. I hope this season make his stronger for when He gets a proper shot once again.
His job, he did, destroying Maldonado all season.
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
20th September 2014, 17:58
I feel for him, such a wasted talent in that horrid Lotus… then again it wasn’t that long ago when his F1 career was in jeopardy due to his crash-prone nature back then but Lotus nevertheless kept believing in him… maybe I’m just naïve but perhaps now it’s his turn to put up with Lotus given that they were putting up with him back then?
LosD (@losd)
20th September 2014, 19:46
The one at Lotus who kept believing in him and helped him through his issues is now the team principal at McLaren.
ecion
20th September 2014, 20:04
Well he’ll be in a merc powered car next year even if he stays put. :)
gabal (@gabal)
20th September 2014, 20:07
Well, they are switching to Mercedes power next year according to Joe Saward so they can look forward to that.