Romain Grosjean finished fourth in the Austrian Grand prix – his best result since his podium in Belgium during the 2015 season. Now he is ready to tackle the British round of the 2018 F1 world championship.
Silverstone is one of the fastest tracks in Formula One, but it’s not necessarily from long straights but rather from long, flowing corners. Can you describe the feeling of speed you experience at this power circuit?
“It’s a really cool track, especially the fast part through Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel corners. When you have the grip in the car there, you really get the sensation of the g-forces. Everything’s pushing down. You really want to get the first part of the flowing corners right. If you don’t, you just lose a lot of time. When the car is very stable and has good balance, you can go flat-out and really push it to the limit.”
With speed playing such a role at Silverstone, how difficult is it to overtake? And if the opportunity presents itself, where can you overtake?
“There are a few spots. On the straights and through the high-speed corners, you have an opportunity if your car is much better balanced than the car in front of you. After turn three or turn four, there’s the long section after the slow-speed corners, and that’s a good opportunity, as well. But the thing about Silverstone is really the difference between a well-balanced car and an unbalanced car –that’s where the opportunity lies.”
What do you need at Silverstone to have the proper balance in your racecar?
“Silverstone is not an easy track. You’ve got all the high-speed sections, where you really want to carry some speed and get fast. Then you’ve got the twisty turns three and four, then the whole last corner, which is tricky on the throttle application. Generally, you need a good rear-end, and if you get that, you can then put some front-flap on and go faster.”
Is Silverstone the track where you’re able to run at full throttle for the longest periods of time?
“I think probably Baku is where we’re flat-out for longer periods of time, but Silverstone is a power track, as well. You need good power to get a good lap time there. There are a few straight lines and a few overtaking opportunities but, mainly, Silverstone is about the grip of the car through the high-speed corners.”
How do you find that edge to determine when you can be flat-out and when you can’t?
“Well, you find out quickly when you’re wrong, but you have to try. It’s as simple as that. You go step-by-step, but definitely, the last step is going flat-out.”
At most circuits, pole position is critical. But for some reason, not as much at Silverstone, where the pole winner has only gone on to win six times in the last 20 years. Is this happenstance or is there something about the track’s layout that provides more opportunity for those a little deeper on the starting grid?
“Silverstone is in the UK, and the UK weather is known to be sometimes rainy, sometimes dry. That plays a part. It can change a lot between qualifying and the race, and then even in the race itself. You can also have a good car in qualifying, but if it’s not quite perfectly balanced for the race, you’ll pay the price. That’s where success lies, and probably why most of the winners didn’t start from pole position.”
Do you have any milestones or moments from your junior career that you enjoyed at Silverstone?
“I’ve had some good races there. I remember GP2 in 2009 – I scored the pole position by a big margin, and that was pretty good fun. In F1, back in 2012, I had a first-lap incident where I had to change the front wing and from there I just pushed all the way. I remember overtaking (Jenson) Button and (Lewis) Hamilton through Maggots, Becketts – the high-speed corners. I came back to sixth from being last on the first lap, which was pretty good.”
What is your favourite part of Silverstone?
“The high-speed corners at Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel.”
Explain a lap around Silverstone, especially now after having competed there with the faster, current-generation car.
“Silverstone is a very high-speed circuit. The new cars make it very different, especially through all the high-speed corners – it’s very sexy. Turn nine, the old turn one, is flat out. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. That’s really the biggest difference, although sector one hasn’t changed that much, but going into turn nine, and then 10, 11 and 12, and Stowe corner is very fast.”
“It’s a great day for all of us, the whole team. They deserve such a good result with the cars finishing fourth and fifth. It’s incredible for our 50th grand prix. I’m so, so happy for all the guys. We’ve done an amazing job all weekend.” #R8G #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/IdkEcYCBbD
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) July 3, 2018
