The Lotus F1® Team continues to pull together during the 2014 Austrian GP where both team drivers completed the 71-lap race.
The 8
th
round of the 2014 Grand Prix Championship competition got underway today, at the Spielberg Circuit in Austria, and it was another gritty challenge for the Lotus F1
®
Team. Hot conditions, high on-track temperatures, together with the rolling nature of the circuit inevitably put pressure on the brakes and both drivers worked hard to avert issues.
Romain Grosjean began the race from the pit lane following a gearbox change, starting the race on supersoft tyres. He soon knuckled down and climbed the field steadily to take the flag in P14.
Pastor Maldonado, who begun the race from P13 on new soft tyres, held his form throughout the race, advancing one place to finish in P12, - just missing out on a finish in the points.
Romain Grosjean P14 E22-03:
“Today hasn’t been easy. We had various issues during the race to add to our struggle for overall performance so it was quite a challenge! We stopped very early for soft tyres but unfortunately we soon experienced graining from these which made it difficult for the rest of the race. Looking at the past, the team has always managed to make a great comeback. It might be a bit of a big build-up this time, but I know that we will work hard and do all we can to fight back to where we want to be."
Pastor Maldonado P12 E22-01:
“For me in the car it was actually quite a good weekend. We finished the race which is positive and we made the most of the package we had today. We are losing a lot of time in the slow-speed corners and we need to keep improving in this area to be more like our good high-speed corner performance. Unfortunately we had some brake issues from very early on in the race so I wasn’t able to fight others around me, even though it was nice to be running in the top ten during the course of the race. After that, it was a case of saving fuel and brakes to get to the chequered flag. I think Silverstone will suit us much better."
Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal:
"There are positives from today. Both cars made the chequered flag in what’s been a difficult race for many teams. Pastor and Romain really got their heads down and made the most of the cars under them and should be applauded for today’s drives. It is obvious where we are lacking against our rivals so our focus going forward is clear.”
Formula One™ comes home for the next round of the competition which takes place at Silverstone for the British GP on 6th July.
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