18/03/2017
NEWS STORY
While he admits that they are more physical to drive than their predecessors, Romain Grosjean insists 2017 cars are not as bad as expected.
In anticipation of the extra demands F1 2017 would put on them, the drivers went into extra rigorous training schedules over the winter, some even taking the opportunity to put on a little bit of weight.
However, though he is glad of the additional training, Romain Grosjean admits the new cars are not quite as demanding as anticipated.
"I didn't feel too bad," said the Frenchman when asked how he felt after pre-season testing. "But let's put it this way, if I'd been in the same condition as I was last year, I would have been destroyed.
"We pushed really hard in our training," he continued. "We may actually have overdone it, but it's not as bad as we thought it would be.
"The cars are going to be challenging and some of the races this year are going to be epic," he said, "especially where it's warm with a high-speed track, it'll be very hard on the body.
"I like the challenge and I like to think that we can always get more prepared and better trained. It felt good as we did the proper training. The cars are much harder to drive than last year."
Asked if the increased g-forces effected any particular part of his body, he said: "The whole body, in the first week of testing, was getting back used to it. The neck is painful, and the back, you're getting used to the positioning of your legs.
"In the second week everything feels much more normal. No real big aspects from testing, but as I said, we had pushed the training hard and that'll be the case again before Australia, before China and the early part of the season. We'll build more muscle and make sure all the areas are covered."
And the VF-17?
"It's a pretty sexy car," he says. "It's got a lot of potential, which we haven't unlocked yet. It's a good baseline, though, and so far it feels pretty good to drive.
"There are a few things I'd like to improve and make better for the first few races, but I think it's a car that should give us some good races."