With just two races left in this chapter of his Enstone career, Romain Grosjean gives some insight into how he will be approaching his Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
How are you looking forward to the penultimate race of the season?
It’s the penultimate race of the season and also my penultimate of this chapter with the team so it will be quite emotional. I’m sure we’ll see this at the team dinner we have every year at a churrascaria where the team who travels around all year can let their hair down a little and share some laughs over a couple of drinks well before the practice sessions. Like every year I will be raising a caipirinha to everyone in the team in São Paulo, then another to everyone back in Enstone too!
What is your strategy in the churrascaria?
It is an evening where you have to be very strategic and pace yourself. The trick is not to go too fast too soon. Early in the evening they bring out the cheaper cuts of meat and the salad bar is very well stocked so it’s easy to fill yourself up before the more expensive cuts come out. The other factor to be aware of is don’t drink too much as it’s very tempting to do that. Also, through the evening you need to store sufficient supplies just in case of any food fight!
Tell us about Interlagos; is it a track you like?
It’s a fantastic track and there’s no part of it that isn’t great. It really suits my driving style so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a big challenge at every turn. There never seems to have a part where you relax. Even the main start-finish ‘straight’ isn’t boring as it starts uphill with some interesting camber, then gradually turns before finishing at the downhill turn one, where it’s so easy to out-brake yourself. If I had to pick favourite parts of Interlagos, I would say the first and last corners; the first corner is really technical and punishes you if you get it wrong, and the last corner is so fast and really puts quite a stain on your body. As a driver I really enjoy these corners. It’s an old style track, so very hard to pick out a single element; I’d say everything is pretty good in Interlagos; I love it!
What’s the response of the fans like in Brazil?
They really love Formula 1 and Formula 1 really loves the Brazilian fans. You feel the passion when you arrive at the circuit and you see so many fans outside and around the track and city too. Of course, we know they all save their strongest support for their own Brazilian drivers but everyone in Formula 1 gets a strong welcome.
You and Pastor were very close throughout the last race?
I wasn’t happy with how he got past me at the start in Mexico so I was determined to keep him behind me at the end of the race. It’s great that the fans could see both the Lotus F1 Team cars racing so close, although we all wish it was racing further up the order! I think we got pretty much everything we could from the car in Mexico.
What are your other thoughts on the Mexican Grand Prix?
Like everyone I was very impressed by it. It was a great event. The track was really good, the facilities were very impressive, the fans were knowledgeable and enthusiastic and it was a really rewarding and enjoyable weekend.