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| Hungary was the location for Romain Grosjean's first pole position in the GP2 Series, so after a weekend in Hockenheim he'd really rather forget, our flying Frenchman is hoping for better things in Budapest |
What’s the key to a good result this weekend in Hungary?
It’s a familiar story; we need to achieve a good qualifying performance. We have
a few updates coming which is good news and I’m sure we are going to be better than
we were last time out. In terms of conditions, it should be hot and hopefully sunny which
will suit our car better than the cold we’ve seen recently, and certainly better
than in the cold and wet! The Hungaroring is a circuit that I quite like and one where I
have had good experiences in the past. Hopefully my past history at the track will help me
to have a proper race weekend. Having all sessions in the dry, so we can work properly
from beginning to end, will also be very helpful!
What went wrong
for you in Hockenheim?
It was a difficult weekend , especially in qualifying and in the race. We weren’t
able to get any pace in qualifying and we’re till trying to understand why
that was. My car was very difficult to drive when it was wet, and it was always raining
hardest when I wanted to set a fast qualifying lap. On top of that I had a five place
penalty on the grid due to my gearbox change. Then in the race, the first lap was a bit of
a mess and I got hit by another car. Maybe it was bad luck, but either way I know I need
to improve my first laps. I am working on that as it is a bit of a shame when you have a
good car, but your race is effectively over after a couple of minutes. In Germany my front
wing needed replacing and the punctured tyre damaged the floor. It was then very difficult
to finish the race let alone to keep up any sort of good pace. There are races where
nothing goes right and it was one of those. Let’s hope the luck will turn around and
everything will be much better in Budapest.
Had you driven a race
lap with a punctured tyre before?
No. That was the first time, so I can add that to my experience. It’s difficult
to know how fast you can go and you can’t see how much damage is being done to the
bodywork. It’s not a nice experience. It’s far better with a car that is
healthy!
You still had to push on in case there were any opportunities for points
– it must have been quite character building?
It was very difficult. The car was not handling well, but this is normal with the
damage we had. I hope I don’t have that situation again. The car was unbalanced,
unpredictable and inefficient. Everything you don’t want from a car!
How is your past experience at the Hungaroring?
I scored my first GP2 Series pole position there in 2008. Last year I won and finished
third, which was a pretty good weekend. I’m heading to Hungary with a positive
attitude.
How does it feel to have completed half of the
season?
It’s not been easy so far. We’ve had some very good results and some very
bad races. The last race was maybe one of the worst - so let’s work, analyse and try
to understand so I don’t make mistakes any more. Stay out of trouble and qualify
better, this is the key. And from that we can go forwards.
What
do you have planned for the August break after the Hungarian Grand Prix?
I’m going to have my honeymoon so it’s going to be a good month for me.
Hopefully I can head off on holiday with the very nice present of a podium finish in the
Hungarian Grand Prix.
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