Not for the first time, Lotus boss Eric Boullier has come to the defence of his driver, Romain Grosjean.

Such was his reputation in 2012, his first full season in F1, that when he caused a first lap crash at the Belgian Grand Prix, an incident from which Fernando Alonso was lucky not to incur serious injury, though it possibly cost him the title, Grosjean became the first driver to be banned from a race since 1994.

Retained for 2013, and having sought the help of a sports psychologist, the Frenchman's season got off to a slow, almost cautious start, before a podium finish in Bahrain.

However, in Monaco, the youngster appeared to fall apart, over the space of three days undoing all the good work of the last few months. Accidents during the practice sessions on Thursday and Saturday, both at Ste Devote, were followed by another on Sunday when he ran into the back of Daniel Ricciardo.

Despite his claim that the Australian was at fault the stewards saw it differently, handing Grosjean a ten-place grid penalty for the next round of the championship, in Canada.

Boullier, who also manages the Frenchman, insists that there is not cause for concern and that the youngster deserves his place in F1.

"We will sit down with him and go through the weekend," he told reporters. "It's always the same story, especially in Monaco. He had the pace, we could see it. It's even more frustrating because of that. We just need to keep cooling him down and have a proper discussion back at the factory..

"He did a great job over the winter and fixed all the problems he had last year," he continued. "But there is some frustration some time when he knows he can be fast. He just needs to build himself saying he is fast, and he can deliver some big results."