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22nd
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From GMM
Romain Grosjean has hit back at Alain Prost, after the quadruple world champion said the Lotus driver's lack of pace in 2013 was due to his "emotionally difficult situation".
"I haven't seen him (Prost) this year," Grosjean said, after putting his early-season troubles behind him with a podium in Bahrain.
"I have a deep respect for what he did but I think it's easy to speak when you are not here," the 27-year-old added.
Grosjean struggled with a mysterious problem in Australia, Malaysia and China, leading Lotus to wipe the slate clean with a brand new chassis for the Swiss-born Frenchman in Bahrain. Grosjean drove chassis 01 since the beginning of the season, and switched to 02 for the Bahrain race.
"We have realised what was wrong," he told France's RMC Sport. "There was nothing mechanically broken. Honestly, I can't tell you what it was because it's confidential, but I said on the radio on Saturday morning 'This is day and night -- this is the car I love'. I had asked myself whether it was me, or the tires, or the car, but in the end it was neither one nor the other, but a combination very difficult to detect."
Team boss Eric Boullier backed Grosjean's explanation.
"Well, we found a lot of details that had not been working well in Romain's car," he is quoted by Speed Week. "It's nice to see him smiling again."
Finally, Grosjean dismissed Prost's diagnosis that his recent struggles had a psychological cause.
"I think that the fact that you're able to come back from a very difficult situation proves that I think he was wrong," he said.
Romain Grosjean has hit back at Alain Prost, after the quadruple world champion said the Lotus driver's lack of pace in 2013 was due to his "emotionally difficult situation".
"I haven't seen him (Prost) this year," Grosjean said, after putting his early-season troubles behind him with a podium in Bahrain.
"I have a deep respect for what he did but I think it's easy to speak when you are not here," the 27-year-old added.
 |
| The two Lotus drivers on the podium. (Photo: WRi2) |
Grosjean struggled with a mysterious problem in Australia, Malaysia and China, leading Lotus to wipe the slate clean with a brand new chassis for the Swiss-born Frenchman in Bahrain. Grosjean drove chassis 01 since the beginning of the season, and switched to 02 for the Bahrain race.
"We have realised what was wrong," he told France's RMC Sport. "There was nothing mechanically broken. Honestly, I can't tell you what it was because it's confidential, but I said on the radio on Saturday morning 'This is day and night -- this is the car I love'. I had asked myself whether it was me, or the tires, or the car, but in the end it was neither one nor the other, but a combination very difficult to detect."
Team boss Eric Boullier backed Grosjean's explanation.
"Well, we found a lot of details that had not been working well in Romain's car," he is quoted by Speed Week. "It's nice to see him smiling again."
 |
| Romain Grosjean at the arrival of the Bahrain Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2) |
Finally, Grosjean dismissed Prost's diagnosis that his recent struggles had a psychological cause.
"I think that the fact that you're able to come back from a very difficult situation proves that I think he was wrong," he said.