Lotus F1 Team
Romain Grosjean says he is encouraged by Lotus's progress during the Malaysian Grand Prix and reckons they can build on it at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.
Grosjean failed to finish in Australia but progressed through to Q2 in Malaysia and finished the race just outside of the points in 11th, having fended off former team-mate Kimi Raikkonen during the closing stint of the race despite suffering from a sudden loss of downforce during the final stint.
"To make major progress we need more days like Saturday and Sunday in Malaysia, where we learned a lot about the car," he said.
"There are some encouraging signs. We know we have a lot of work ahead, but we also know which areas to work on. We will try new things in Bahrain and I’m confident the car will be better."
Grosjean also reckons the later start time - the race will begin at twilight and end in darkness - will affect tyre wear.
"In terms of at the track, every year we have had hot temperatures and a lot of sun which made tyre degradation quite high," he said. "Temperatures will clearly be lower at night and we’ll have to see how that changes grip and degradation."
The Frenchman has finished on the podium on both occasions he has raced in Bahrain and adds that he heads to the country in a positive frame of mind.
"It’s a track I knew from before Formula 1 and it has characteristics that I like in a circuit; some big braking into certain corners, some good change of direction with the double-left in the middle of the racetrack and it all flows quite nicely," he said.
"With the E20 and E21 we were able to take advantage of the car’s good balance and kindness to tyres. It’s early to say how the E22 will perform, but we head there with a positive frame of mind."
