28/11/2015
NEWS STORY
Lotus F1 Team experienced a frustrating qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Pastor Maldonado classified thirteenth and Romain Grosjean fifteenth at the Yas Marina Circuit.
A gearbox issue in Q2 blunted Romain's charge, forcing him to pit before posting a lap time in the session. The team attempted hasty remedial work, but the car ground to a halt part way through his final opportunity for qualifying glory. Pastor was unable to break into the top ten and will start from P13.
Romain Grosjean: "That was very frustrating, but it's the end of the season and I think my gearbox has been around the world about three times already! I'll be doing everything I can tomorrow; I've asked the engine guys to turn it up to eleven so let's see what we can do!"
Pastor Maldonado: "We expected a difficult qualifying session so P13 is not so bad. You need a lot of downforce around here and that's an area where we're a bit lacking, especially at this time of the season. It's the final race of the year tomorrow so we'll do everything we can to get a decent result."
How was qualifying for the team?
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: It was frustrating. It was clear from FP3 that we would struggle for qualifying pace today. Pastor's P13 was actually quite reasonable but the issue we had with Romain's car was a real kick. We tried everything we could to get him out, but it was not to be.
What are the considerations for tomorrow's race?
AP: Our race performance should be stronger relative to the opposition so we will be trying to work our way up the order albeit at a circuit where overtaking is not so easy. It will be a tough race but as always we will give it our best shot.
Check out our Saturday gallery, here.